Hunting Games
by Tuulikki
Summary: Jou is a Hunterborn Lord, Seto a young thief in the King's City. At the age of eight the Hunter's Oath throws them together. Life as brothers isn't always that easy, but it's the least of the problems they'll face. Xover, shounen ai, though not SJ.
1. Chapter 1

So… once upon a time I was reading Michelle West's books _Hunter's Oath_ and _Hunter's Death_ – highly recommendable books, by the way – and suddenly they began to scream at me: 'Write a crossover! Write a crossover! Starring Seto and Jou!' Here it is, finally… Don't worry if you don't know those books, that's not required to be able to follow this. This first chapter is kind of prologue-ish, anyway. It's also quite Seto-centric, but that'll change – I think.

It has been quite long since I read the books, so I'm sorry if there are some inaccuracies. I did my best, but I did face some difficulties…. There shouldn't be anything too bad, though. (At least I hope so…) This might also have some spoilers on the books, but nothing too bad, again.

And yes, I know. It would sound more sensible to have Seto as the Lord and Jou as the thief, but somehow this felt more like it… you'll understand as you read on.

**Shounen-ai warning** for the later chapters.

I'm still debating whether this is PG or PG-13…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either Yu-Gi-Oh! nor any of the works of Michelle West-sama. If you thought I did, go get some help. -.-

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Chapter 1 

A young boy, not over ten years old, was running through the streets of the King's City. It was a busy day and the streets were full of people, making it difficult for him to proceed as quickly as he wanted to, but at least he knew that his pursuers were facing the same problem.

"Sorry!" he shouted over his shoulder as he almost bumped into an elderly woman who was crossing the street. The woman shouted angrily after him as he ran away, but he ignored her, listening keenly for other sounds. The barking of dogs, and… a blow of a horn. There it came, echoing in the walls, announcing a Hunt in the King's City.

_Damn… Should have known better than try to steal from a Hunter Lord…_ He glanced nervously around. He was running so hard that his side was beginning to hurt and he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep this up for long. _Think now, think… you'll never outrun the dogs and if they catch you…_ Well, truthfully he wasn't exactly sure what would happen if he were caught, but he didn't really want to find out either.

He turned suddenly to a side street, a ghost of a plan forming in his mind. He knew these streets well, having lived there for almost a year by now, and he was sure he could lose the Hunter Lord from his tracks, dogs or no dogs. He aimed for a little alley that he knew to be a dead end, and once he reached it he ran to a ladder that was leaning against the wall and climbed quickly to the roof. A little smirk was playing on his lips. _I'd like to see the dog that can follow me here…_There was a similar dead end not so far from where he was. If he repeated his trick there he was sure that he'd lose the pursuers easily.

-

He was still panting hard as he run over a third roof onto which he had climbed. He hadn't heard the dogs barking for some time, and as he began to climb down he was grinning widely, congratulating himself for a masterly escape. However, the grin vanished suddenly from his face when he heard a voice from below.

"You'd better be careful up there… the last thing I want after all this running is you to fall down and break your neck."

The boy gave a start and glanced down, only to find the Hunter Lord staring up at him, surrounded by his dogs. For a moment he hung frozen where he was, staring at the man and the unnaturally quiet dogs – were they really standing in a _formation_? – but soon he recovered from his shock and began hastily to climb back up. He hadn't climbed many rungs when the head of another man dressed in the hunters' green appeared over the edge of the roof. The boy started again, lost his grip on the ladder, and – despite his frantic attempts to regain it – fell down.

The Hunter Lord stared a moment at the boy's unmoving body that was lying on the ground, and glared then up at his companion. "You'd better hope he's not hurt," he grunted as he bent over the boy.

The other sighed as he began to climb down. "Me? Why is it always my fault? You could have caught him, y'know."

-

Something smelled good. That was the first thing that he became aware of as he woke up. There was something close that smelled… really _delicious_. It made him remember his hunger. Carefully he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling in confusion. Then he tried to get up from where he was lying but the movement made him realize that besides the hunger, he was also suffering from a very severe headache, and he sunk back to the soft cushions.

_Soft cushions?_

He opened his eyes again and glanced around. He couldn't be certain but it seemed to him that he was lying on a bed in some inn of a better quality. He really didn't have enough experience of those to know for sure.

"Our guest seems to be awake."

With a start he sat up, ignoring the pounding in his head. There was a man standing at the doorway, looking at him with what was probably meant to be a friendly smile. Another man appeared behind the first one's shoulder, and with a sinking feeling he recognized the Hunter Lord whose purse he had tried to steal. The fact that the Lord looked much more sullen than his companion did not really make him feel any better.

"Finally. I thought you were going to sleep all the day." The Hunter Lord stepped beside the bed looking at the boy who was sitting on it.

The boy had strikingly blue eyes and brown hair – surprisingly dark brown, among the fair Breodani. Otherwise he looked like any other kid from the streets, all skinny and dirty, dressed in rags. Still, he did not look away as the Lord examined him, but stared straight back with a firm, almost angry expression.

The Lord smiled a little. "He seems to be suitable, don't you think?"

The other man moved to stand beside him, shrugging. "Possibly. At least he has good reflexes and he seems to be capable to _think_, which is quite essential in this trade, given the…"

The Lord snorted. "That's enough. Now if we only get him home in one piece…"

"Home?"

The word escaped him out of sheer surprise, and the boy bit his lip, angry at himself, as both men turned to look at him.

"Yes," the Hunter Lord said. "To Shironouchi [1], to be exact, although…" He cut himself off, staring again at the boy with a thoughtful expression.

The boy was thinking hard as well, or trying to, at least. The headache did not make it any easy task. Anyway, that statement didn't make any sense whatsoever. Why would any lord take a thief from the streets to his home? The very idea was absurd, and it made him wary. There was something going on that he didn't understand, and he had never liked that.

"So, what's your name, boy?"

The Lord's voice cut off his thoughts and made him start once more. For a moment he eyed the man suspiciously, but decided then that telling his name would hardly do any harm.

"Seto," he answered gruffly.

The Lord nodded, looking satisfied. "I was right, you see," he said to his companion, who shrugged again.

"For once."

Seto looked at them in bewilderment. _Right? About what?_

The Lord turned to look at him again. "You see, we have been looking for you."

"…me?"

"Yes. You… and your brother." He smiled a little as he saw Seto stiffening. "You have a brother, don't you? Called Mokuba if I am not mistaken…"

Seto stared at him suspiciously before nodding curtly. They obviously knew the truth anyway, there was no point in trying to deny it. "Are you going to take us back to him?" The Lord _had_ said something about taking them home… to that… that… Shiro… whatever the place was called, but one could never be sure with lords.

"If by him you mean Master Kaiba, no." He smiled again at the boy's still suspicious expression. "Definitely no, after the trouble we've had in finding someone suitable. We've been through all the local orphanages, but did not find what we were looking for. In one place, though, we heard about a boy who sounded fitting, the only problem being that he was adopted about a year ago. We did some research and found out that the said boy – and his brother – had very soon run away from their adoptive father. Which," he added, "doesn't surprise me at all, from all I've heard about him. It took us quite long to find you from the streets, and _some_ of us were beginning to lose faith. But we did find you."

"Obviously." Seto wasn't sure if he was happy about this.

"Anyway, to finish the introductions… I am Lord Kawai. This," he gestured to his companion, "is Kagemi. He is my huntbrother. Do you know what that is?"

Seto shook his head carefully.

The man sighed. "Do you know what Hunter Lords do?"

Seto snorted. "Of course I do. Everyone knows _that_." The Hunter Lord looked at him expectantly, and he continued a little hesitantly.

"They… hunt."

Lord Kawai sighed again, and his huntbrother tried to hold back his laughter. "The boy's right, you know. I know from experience that that's pretty much all you do."

The Lord gave him a sharp glance, but didn't say anything. For a moment he stared at the boy quite surly. Seto met his gaze with an equally sour expression, and he sighed third time. "Time for a history lesson, boy."

He pulled a chair close to the bed and sat on it, while the other man sat on the bed beside Seto.

"A long time ago there was a great famine. It was a very hard time for our people… Many died, the old and young alike, and the future seemed very grim. So, the people called for their God for help. The Hunter heard their plea and came to help the people who had always been faithful to him. He taught us the way of the Hunter and gave us the Hunter Lords to feed the people, as well as the first of the hounds, the Bredari. Ever since the Hunter-born have hunted for the people to feed them with the help of their God-given abilities, so that there will not be another famine."

Seto listened carefully, his worries about his thievery forgotten for a moment. If there was something he loved, it was learning new things.

"There is a prize, though." The Lord's voice softened a little. "Once in a year the Sacred Hunt has to be called. All the Hunter Lords and their huntbrothers gather to hunt in the King's forests, and the God comes to Hunt them. Every year, one of the Lords or their brothers dies in that hunt."

He fell silent, and also his huntbrother was quiet. Seto shifted a little, impatient to hear more.

"So… what do the huntbrothers do, then?" he asked finally.

Before the Lord could answer, Kagemi looked up smiling. "Oh, basically, we are here just to remind the lords that there are other things than hunting in the world, and also to shove some sense into their thick skulls when it's needed."

The Lord gave him one more glare, but he just met his gaze smiling innocently before turning back to Seto.

"Seriously speaking, we are meant to be friends and protectors to our hunters, and help them in their hunts… as well as in the social circles. I might add that the vast majority of the Hunter Lords are far better suited to converse with their dogs than with the Ladies of the court." At this point, the Lord had given up glaring at him, and just shook his head sighing defeatedly as he leaned back in his chair.

"Secondly, the huntbrothers are always chosen among the commoners. That is because our presence is meant to remind the lords that it is the common people they are supposed to feed and protect." He paused for a while. "It's surprising how many Hunter Lords end up searching the potential huntbrothers among thieves, though…" He shrugged. "I guess they just like hunting in a city."

Lord Kawai snorted. "Might I continue, if you are finished with your little lecture?" He rose up and gazed at Seto seriously. "My nephew's eight birthday is drawing near."

Seto didn't say anything, he did not understand why that was so important.

"At the age of eight, the Hunter Lord and his huntbrother take the Hunter's Oath," he continued. "There isn't a brother chosen yet for my nephew." Suddenly he smiled a little. "You gave us a good hunt today, and you obviously have some wits about you. So, what do you say?"

Seto looked at him silently, trying to think, but his thoughts were in quite a turmoil. He saw the huntbrother smile and wink at him behind the Lord's back, his expression clearly saying 'this is your chance, boy, go for it'. He licked his lips nervously and said the first thing in his mind, mostly because of the delicious smell that still lingered in the room.

"So… if I agreed to be this… huntbrother… would I get much to eat?"

This time the huntbrother laughed out aloud. "You'd live like a Lord, boy. But that reminds me… you must be starving. I'll go to get you some wood." He left the room, leaving Seto alone with the Hunter Lord, who looked at him expectantly.

Seto cleared his throat staring at the floor. "I guess I'd like to meet your nephew first, before I decide… and…" He looked up suddenly. "What about my brother?"

"You want to take him with you?"

Seto nodded firmly. "Yeah. I'm not leaving him behind."

The Lord shrugged. "He can come with you, of course."

Seto nodded again. "It's a deal, then."

Just then Kagemi came back, bringing that delicious smell even closer, and suddenly Seto had to fight hard not to start drooling.

-

Seto sat quietly holding his sleeping little brother in his arms as the carriage rolled onward. The Lord and his huntbrother were talking about many things, mostly about hunting and some 'Lordly stuff', as he had named it. First he had tried to follow their discussions, but soon he had grown tired of listening to things he didn't know anything about.

The carriage rolled onward, as it had done for days by now, and he was beginning to wonder how long the travel would take. Slowly, this whole deal was beginning to make him nervous. What if, for some reason, they decided that after all he wasn't suitable to be a huntbrother once they reached their destination? He somewhat doubted that they'd get him all the way back to the city… although they did seem to be quite nice. The again, he had realized long ago that in general people weren't nice unless they wanted something from you.

Living in the city wasn't easy, but it wasn't _that_ bad either. The societies of the street people did offer some safety after all. There was the den into which he and his brother had belonged, for one thing, although the leader of that den didn't seem to care much of his youngest members. That was still better than living alone on the streets. And definitely it was better than living with _him_.

Seto frowned a little, wondering why they always had to have so bad luck. He still remembered, although barely, how excited their mother had been when they had left to Breodanir after better life. Couple of years later she had died when Mokuba was born, and just a few years after that their father caught some weird sickness – he still wasn't sure what it was – and died as well. Left alone in a strange country, the boys were taken to an orphanage, only to be adopted by nothing short of a monster. Worriedly Seto glanced at his sleeping brother, hoping for him that they would have better luck this time.

Suddenly he realized that they were now traveling in silence. Blinking, he looked up, and saw the others watch him silently.

Kagemi met his gaze with a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Worried, aren't you?" The smile widened a little, but it was still somehow rueful. "I could tell you there's no need to worry, but that wouldn't really help, would it? I remember when I was in your position…"

Seto's eyes widened a little in surprise, and the huntbrother laughed quietly. "All the huntbrothers are chosen among the common folk, remember? So I was in your position once, and quite worried, even without a brother to take care of."

He glanced at his hunter. "And maybe there _was_ a reason to be worried after all… I wish someone had told me what I was getting myself into when I agreed to be _his_ huntbrother."

The Lord gave him one more of his glares. "You just can't stop, can you…"

He grinned. "Of course not. That's not on my contract."

"And what is? To be a constant pain in the ass?"

The huntbrother tsked. "I somewhat doubt that that's how it's put officially."

Seto smiled despite himself, feeling a little relieved. Maybe all _would_ turn out well, after all.

-

Finally, after five days of traveling, the carriage arrived into the yard of a big mansion. Mokuba was watching out of the window with eager anticipation, pointing out everything he saw and making the men laugh, but Seto did his best to avoid looking out. He was trying to look nonchalant, but in truth his heart was beating wildly and there was a bunch of butterflies flying around in his stomach.

The carriage came to a stop, a servant opened its door, and the Lord stepped outside, followed by his huntbrother. Mokuba bounced enthusiastically after them.

Kagemi turned to look behind at Seto who was still sitting in the carriage. "Come on," he said stretching out his hand. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

Seto blushed a little and stepped out ignoring the offered hand. "I'm not afraid," he said, and blushed more when he realized how defensive his voice sounded. The other said nothing and for once kept his smile in check.

They were just about to go inside when a young boy came running from the direction of the stables.

"Uncle!"

In a matter of seconds the boy jumped to Hunter Lord's neck.

"Where have you been!? You've been gone so long…" He looked up eagerly. "Did you bring me anything?"

The Lord smiled down at him. "In a manner of speaking, I guess I did. But what the hell have you been doing? You're mother's going to kill you if she sees you like that…"

The boy looked down a little shamefacedly. He was finely clothed – or probably had once been. Now the garments were dirty and ragged here and there. Dirty was also his face, not to talk about his hands. On the top of it there were few straws sticking out of his blond hair.

"Nothing so much… First we were playing at the stables… the main stable was my castle and I and Jon and his brothers were defending it against the others and first it went fine, but then someone let them in through the backdoors and we had to start _really_ fighting to get them out again and…"

Lord Kawai raised his hands up cutting of the boy's enthusiastic explanations. "Alright, alright, I get it. Is that were you got so dirty?"

The boy glanced at the aforementioned hands before hiding them quickly behind his back. "Well… partly… Old Mathius chased us away from the stable, he said we disturbed the horses. So we thought that we'd go to fish and there were plenty of worms in the stable yard."

The Lord shook his head. "Next time, change your clothes _before_ your games. For now, I'd advice you to get changed quickly. I'm pretty sure that you're mother wants to see you after she's heard what I have to tell her, and as I said… you'll be in trouble if she sees you like that."

The boy nodded. "Okay. It won't take long. But what did you bring me?"

The Lord smiled. "I'll tell you later. Now go to get yourself clean."

"Okay!" The boy ran off.

Lord Kawai shook his head looking after him. "He's quite impossible…"

Kagemi laughed. "Indeed."

Seto had followed the exchange feeling a little worried. Now he approached hesitantly the laughing men.

"Excuse me… but was that your nephew?"

The Lord turned to look at him. "Katsuya? Yes, he's the one. Fine kid, just believe me."

"I think he's funny, big brother," Mokuba piped up.

_Funny's just the word..._ Suddenly Seto heard Kagemi's voice ringing in his mind.

_I wish someone had told me what I was getting myself into when I agreed to be his huntbrother..._

_Do I really want to do this?_ he wondered as they walked inside.

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[1] Shironouchi is an alternative way to read the kanji with which Jounouchi is written. I guess that if Jou's a Lord, then Jounouchi would be a place name (you know, he could also be called Lord _of_ Jounouchi) but I can't think of it as a place name, it sounds kind of funny. (…If _that_ sounds funny, let's see how I'm going to handle calling Jou Lord Jounouchi… ) 

If I remember right, Jou's mother's last name is Kawai, so I guess that would be her brother's name as well. (That way I don't have to spend any more time wondering what to call him…) As for Kagemi, that name came to my mind when I was going through all the possible and impossible names I could remember (what I don't remember is where I've heard it, or even whether it was a boy's or a girl's name…). Anyway, it was quite fitting here: it means 'the person always at one's side'.

::pokes the fic:: I have a feeling that the beginning was in some places similar to the book… -.-; Can't remember, though, it's been so long since I read it. Anyway, reviews are muchly appreciated. : )


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, here's the second chapter. ... By the way… if someone was wondering what I meant with "there were plenty of masks in the stable yard" in the previous chapter that was supposed to be "plenty of worms". ::sweatdrop:: My beta pointed out in this chapter that there's something weird in 'digging masks'. It took me a moment to realize that 'mask' is worm in Swedish, not in English. Come on, I'm sure you've sometimes mixed up words in languages you're studying…

Anyway, _very_ many thanks to Rayne-Jelly for betaing. I really seem to need a beta…

The ages at the moment: Jou is, as you know, almost eight, Seto's nine, Mokuba is four, and Shizuka... hmmm, let's say six.

And thanks for the reviewers too!

Rayne-Jelly: ... ::is still laughing about the 'masks':: Thanks again.

Innominate: I'm afraid this is the last chapter where the characters are of that age... we'll soon make a little warp in time. Hmm... I guess I can tell you that at least Yami, Yuugi, Ryou and Bakura will make cameos in this (not necessarily in that order), as well as one or two characters from the books. Yeah, and Shizuka, of course. Thanks for the review!

Yami-loverOB1: I'm glad that you liked this. Many thanks for the review!

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**Chapter 2**

Sitting in a finely carved coach, Seto was once again doing his best trying to look nonchalant, although he feared that he was failing miserably. He couldn't help wondering how Mokuba was able to take this all so calmly. The little boy behaved as if he visited daily some Lord's estate.

This Lord in question, together with his huntbrother, was currently talking with Katsuya's mother, Lady Jounouchi, a lovely-looking woman approaching her forties. Katsuya himself was sitting beside Seto, looking terribly bored.

"They talk too much," he whispered to Seto. "I wish they'd let us go, there are so many things I want to show you."

The Lady looked at him sharply. "If that includes digging worms with your _bare hands_ behind the stable, you can forget it."

Katsuya blinked. "How did…"

She smiled at him a little smugly. "Mothers always know. We will talk about it later."

The blond boy hung his head with a depressed sigh. "Damn," he muttered.

On the floor in the front of them a small brown-haired girl looked up at them, not saying anything. Shizuka, Katsuya's sister, seemed to Seto to be quite nice girl. The only problem with her was that she kept on asking Seto 'Are you _sure_ you don't have a sister?' over and over again. As she put it, 'getting two more brothers, especially a little one, was fun; but she would have preferred a sister since even _one_ brother was too much of a burden.' Her mother had told her that it wasn't yet certain if she was getting get any new siblings, and if she was, she'd have to be content with Seto and Mokuba. She didn't seem to be too happy about it, but at least she had dropped the subject.

As time went by Seto was growing more and more suspicious about the whole thing. He knew that he wasn't very social type, and he didn't understand how he'd ever get along with someone so different from him like Katsuya was. On the other hand, the food was _good_ and there was plenty of it. More to the point, Mokuba looked quite happy there, and getting adopted by nobility was certainly the best thing that could ever happen to him. He looked for a moment at his brother who was also sitting on the floor, playing contently with Shizuka's toys. In that sense there really was no question, but he was still feeling unsure.

Finally the Lady turned to look at them, smiling a little.

"I guess there is no reason to keep the boys here to be 'bored to death'. If you have so many things to show to Seto, why don't you go to show them, honey. Just one thing." Her voice grew sterner. "No activities that involve dirt, do you understand me, young man?"

"Yes Mom," Katsuya answered meekly.

She smiled. "Go then, boys."

Shizuka got up from the floor. "Can I show Mokuba my room?"

"Of course, dear. And don't worry, Seto," she added with a wink as she noticed Seto's worried expression. "She's not dangerous."

Seto bowed slightly, not knowing what else to do, and left then after Katsuya who was impatiently waiting for him to follow.

"Finally!" Katsuya muttered when they were out of earshot. "I thought they were going to keep us there forever. By the way, my friends call me Jou." He smiled at the other boy who just nodded.

"So what do you wan to do first?" Jou asked grinning. "I know! I'll show you daddy's dogs! C'mon!"

_Dogs? What's so special about dogs?_ Seto thought absentmindedly, still wondering about the strange turn his life had suddenly taken. Then he realized. _Of course, he means the dogs that are used in the hunts… Seems to be quite excited about them._

Jou didn't let the other's silence to bother him, "I can't wait till I get my own pack. It's gonna be the greatest there's ever been! I'll take only the best hounds… well, I probably will get some of dad's dogs, but they're okay too. Especially the pack leader, though he'll be too old then…" Jou kept on babbling about the dogs, with no end to the monologue in sight.

Seto looked at the beautiful paintings that were hanging on the walls listening only with half an ear to the other boy's chatter.

_I guess I have to do this, for Mokuba, if not for any other reason… This way he can get education and everything. Really, what kind of a brother I am, even considering abandoning a chance like this and taking him back to the streets!_

Suddenly something Jou said caught his attention.

"It had to be great, to live like that! Such freedom… no one telling you what to do and what not…"

Seto snorted. "Yes… and no one giving you food or new clothes, or warmth when the winter comes. Really great. Are you stupid or what?"

Jou turned to look at him angrily. "Don't talk to me like that!"

"Why not?" Seto annoyed look turned to mocking. "Oh yes, I know, you're a _Lord_. I guess I should just smile at everything you say and bow deeply afterwards?"

Jou glared at him. "You're stupid yourself."

Seto raised his eyebrows. "Really? Well, at least I'm not…" He took a slow look at the other boy, "…a well-clad puppy dog."

"Take that back!"

"Make me."

The fight was just about to begin when Seto heard something. "What's that?"

Jou stopped in the middle of his attack. "What?" he asked suspiciously.

"Someone's crying." Seto listened carefully.

"I don't hear…" Jou was saying, but he cut himself off in the middle of the sentence as a weak shout carried to his ears.

"…Seto…!"

In a matter of seconds Seto was running towards the sound. "Mokuba!"

Jou ran after him. "I think it came from upstairs," he said, and they rushed up the stairs.

Upstairs, Seto ran quickly to the door behind which the crying came and flung it open. As he saw what was in the room he stopped dead in shock. Behind him Jou burst into laughter.

Very miserable looking Mokuba was sitting on a chair, dressed in a beautiful, pink dress. His hair was bound with a matching ribbon. Shizuka stood beside him, looking guiltily at the boys.

"Seto!" Mokuba bounced on his feet and ran to his brother. "She's making me a _girl_!"

By now Jou had sunk to sit on the floor, guffawing with laughter. Seto looked at him angrily.

"Could you stop that, this isn't funny."

"Oh yes… this is." Jou wiped his eyes. "Funniest thing I've ever seen…"

Shizuka looked at Mokuba accusingly. "You wouldn't have needed to cry. I wouldn't cry either if someone dressed me up as a boy."

Seto looked at her sternly and she gulped, taking a step back. "That's different." He glanced at the still laughing Jou. "Maybe you should explain to your sister the difference between boys and girls," he said as he took off the ribbon.

"No!" Shizuka shouted. "You can't take it away! Put it back!"

"I'm most definitely _not_ going to put it back," he shouted. "And for now on you'd better to leave my brother alone!"

He glared at the small girl, who gulped again and suddenly began to cry.

"Hey!" Jou jumped up from the floor. "Don't you make my sister cry!"

Seto turned to glare at him for his turn. "I can't make her cry but it's okay for her to make my brother cry?"

"She's a girl! Mother says gentlemen don't…"

"You're not a gentleman, you're an _idiot_."

"Jerk," Jou muttered under his breath.

"_Puppy boy._"

Suddenly the two were rolling on the floor, tearing at each other's hair.

A figure appeared by the doorway. "What on earth is… oh!"

Lady Jounouchi turned quickly away, trying to hide her smile as she saw Mokuba.

"Okay boys." Kagemi stepped into the room and picked the fighting boys apart. "That's enough."

By now the Lady had regained her composure, and she looked at the children. "What is going on here?" she asked as calmly as she could.

Shizuka stared at the floor, Mokuba sat quietly by the wall still looking quite miserable, and Seto and Jou were exchanging angry glances.

The Lady sighed. "Katsuya?"

Jou lowered his eyes to the floor.

Seto glanced at him once more and cleared then his throat quietly.

"We… we heard Mokuba crying and came to see and found him like this and then I took this away," he showed her the ribbon and her lips twitched. "And I… I shouted at Shizuka and she began to cry, and he got angry and we… well, we…" he glanced again at Jou and fell silent.

She sighed again. "You began to fight."

"Quite a circus," Lord Kawai said chuckling at the door.

Lady Jounouchi glanced at her brother angrily. "I have never understood what's so funny in fighting. Anyway, I think that now is the time of apologies. Who wants to begin?"

Both boys stared sullenly at the floor, refusing to look at each other.

"Shizuka?" the Lady said, "Why don't you set an example for the boys?"

"Me?" Shizuka looked up, surprised.

"Yes, you," her mother said gently. "You made Mokuba cry.

Shizuka bit her lip and looked a little shamefacedly at Mokuba who was still sniffling.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Really." She walked to Mokuba and bent down to hug him.

The Lady smiled at them. "That's good. Well boys?"

It was Seto's turn to bit his lip. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you," he said finally to Shizuka who nodded happily.

"So, that leaves only you two," the Lady said looking expectantly at the two boys. "Katsuya? You haven't said anything yet."

Jou looked up angrily. "I'm not going to apologize to him for anything."

His mother was about to say something, but Seto cut her off. "That's fine by me, I don't want your apologies."

Jou glared at him. "Jerk."

"Shall I say what you are?"

"At least I…!"

"Boys! Stop it!" Lady Jounouchi looked at them angrily. "Now you're going to apologize each other."

The boys remained silent.

"Do it."

Silence.

"Oh well! Be stubborn if you have to. Go to your rooms. Now. Kagemi, why don't you show Seto where his room is?"

"Sure. Come on, kid."

Seto followed him out of the room, giving one more, angry look at Jou, which was promptly returned.

"You too, Katsuya. Go to your room and stay there." Sullenly Jou left the room. The Lady looked after them for a moment with a sigh. "This isn't going very well."

"What do you mean?" her brother asked.

"You saw them! They don't get along at all!"

Lord Kawai laughed. "They get along just as well as Kagemi and I did at their age."

She looked at him shaking her head.

"Be that as it may…. Come here, Mokuba. Now where are your own clothes…?"

In a small room Seto was sitting on a bed, staring at his feet.

"I don't like him," he said suddenly.

Kagemi looked at him smiling a little, leaning against the wall. "I didn't like my hunter when we met either, if that makes you feel any better. Jou isn't that bad when you get really to know him. His problem is that he tends to talk without thinking, that's all."

Seto shrugged. "Maybe." He didn't feel convinced. _Why did I have to steal that purse? Everything would have been much simpler if they hadn't… _That brought another thought to his mind. He looked up at Kagemi.

"I…"

"What?" Kagemi looked at him questioningly.

"I was just wondering…" Seto continued hesitantly. "Where's his father? Why didn't _he_ come to search for a huntbrother for his son?"

There was a moment's silence before Kagemi answered him quietly.

"He is dead."

Seto blinked. "Oh…"

Kagemi came to sit beside him on the bed. For a moment he stared at the floor as if deep in thought, and continued then.

"He faced the Hunter's Death three years ago."

"What?" Seto blinked again.

"Do you remember what you were told about the Sacred Hunt?"

Seto nodded.

"That's what it's called when someone dies there… It's a horrible thing, Seto. Necessary, but horrible. His body was not a pleasant sight when we found him…"

Seto listened with wide eyes. "Where… where's his huntbrother, then?"

"He's dead too." Kagemi turned to look at him again and stared for sometime into his eyes thoughtfully. "I guess you deserve to know the truth." He took a deep breath. "Usually the huntbrothers don't live long after their Hunters' deaths. The bond between them is so strong… It is easier for the Hunters to face the death of their brothers. They still have their dogs left, and they are bound also to them very strongly. For the huntbrothers, once the Oath is taken… there is nothing worse than the death of the hunter."

"Oath…?" The word was very soft, as if he were afraid to say it.

"Hunter's Oath. That's where the bond is forged, and I do hope that you will take it with Jou. There are dangers in it, but it is worth them. I think that you'd be good for Jou."

He got up and patted Seto on the shoulder. "But don't worry about things like that now. Go to sleep." With a silent 'good night', he left.

Seto went to bed, but he lay long awake, staring at the ceiling, before drifting away to sleep.

* * *

Well, there it was. A little shorter chapter this time… The next chapter will still deal mostly with Jou and Seto's developing relationship, but it think in the fourth chapter something will start to happen.

This was a little silly chapter, but when I was writing this the image of 'Princess Mokuba' popped up in my mind, and I couldn't resist he temptation. ::grin::

Anyway, reviews are, as always, appreciated. Please tell me what you think, okay?

... gah. I don't seem to be able to get over the 'masks'. I have to be really tired… ::wanders away to laugh her head off::


	3. Chapter 3

Gah. It figures that I'd get sick just when my summer job begins… x.x Anyway, here's chapter 3 for you, and I try to get the next chapter out… well, as soon as I can, but right now I'm in no condition to write anything. sniffle This chapter is the last one that deals with their (Seto and Jou's) past, in the next chapter the 'plot will (finally) thicken'. ; ) At least I hope so.

Review responses (very quick this time, sorry…):

goku-the-saru: Thanks! I'm glad that you like this (so far anyway…)

mandapandabug: Heh… friends they'll be, sooner or later. Thanks for the review!

Cassandra: Thanks for reviewing! I was afraid that the beginning could be a little confusing, but I hope you get it now…

Yami-loverOB1: Thanks! I thought when I started doing this that this might turn quite different, and yes, that's probably because of the books. Anyway, I hope you'll like the rest of this too.

innominate: Line breaks? D'you mean those long line's I have there in the beginning and the end… okay, okay, what else? (Sorry, brain's not working.) Truthfully, I don't how they're done, I just used copy and paste when I saw them used in one fic. ::sweatdrop:: As for the shounen-ai, I think it's something between minor and major plot… maybe major. And yes, I guess I can tell you that it's Seto/Ryou. …not sure why I haven't told it earlier…  
Yes, and beta comments are always appreciated. : )

Sarasusamiga: Hmm… I have to add those books to my list… Thanks for the review! (… ::is still quite amused by the masks::)

Tokemi: They're good books, worth finding. : ) Anyway, I'm glad that you like this, and thanks for reviewing!

_Very_ many thanks to Rayne-Jelly for betaing. Believe me, this chapter's a lot better now than it was before…

* * *

**Chapter 3**

-

_About six years later_

-

Once again, home arrest.

Seto sighed as he lay down on his bed staring at the ceiling. _When will I learn…? When he gets an idea, it's _always_ bad._ _Such an idiot… though… which one of us am I talking about?_ He sighed again, but smiling nonetheless. Jou could really be a bother, he always had been, and it made him wonder what on earth had convinced him to agree to this… this madness. Well… he _did_ remember what… now he was wondering more about the why of it.

_Good thing I've learned some self-control after that… _****

One day, years ago, not so long after he had first arrived to Shironouchi, he had been walking alone in the nearby forest, trying to decide what to do. The fact was that he didn't want to stay.

The past few days had really been extremely trying for everyone's nerves. He and Jou seemed to be incapable of being in the same room for five minutes without fighting. He wasn't the only one who was tired of that constant fighting…. Jou's mother complained that she would soon suffer a nervous breakdown because of them. That made him feel guilty, he liked Jou's mother, she had been kind to him from the very beginning.

But he just couldn't help himself when Jou was around. So he wanted to leave… and wanting that made him feel even guiltier.****

After Mokuba had recovered from his shock of being dressed up as a girl, he had become quite good friends with Shizuka and was wholeheartedly enjoying his life in Shironouchi. Seto knew that no matter how much he wanted to leave, he wouldn't ever be able to do it. It would be too cruel to Mokuba to take him back to the streets just when he had grown accustomed to an easy life.

He walked on, starting to wonder if it they'd want to adopt Mokuba in any case, even if he wouldn't agree to this huntbrother-folly. Actually, it wasn't such a bad idea, everyone really seemed to enjoy Mokuba's company, they all liked him. Seto just abhorred the thought of leaving his brother behind. Still, it might have been best for everyone.****

Just then he came to a small meadow and saw Mokuba sitting in middle of it, obviously crying. There were four laughing boys standing around him, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. He felt his heart fill with rage, all the frustrations of the past few days rushing through him.

"Hey! Leave him be!" He sprinted towards the boys. Three of them almost ran away when they saw him, but the fourth held them back shouting after them.

"Where are you going? C'mon, he's alone!"****

When Seto reached Mokuba the younger boy clung to his arm with a tight grip, sobbing. He glared angrily at the boys. "What do you think you're doing with him!?"

The boy who had told to the others not to run away, obviously some kind of leader in that small group, laughed at him.

"Just telling him what we think about lowlifes like you who use other's friendliness for their own ends. You're just like parasites."

Seto glared at him, "What are you talking about?" he bit off angrily.****

"What d'you think? You come here, obviously with no intention of becoming a huntbrother or anything, you're just eating their foods as long as they let you."

Seto snorted. "Really? I'm still _thinking_ about this whole thing… if you know what that word means. If I were you I'd be quiet about it…"

"Oh? And if we're not quiet what'll you do?"

Seto squeezed his hands into fists. "Then I'll have to teach you how to be quiet."

"You can try, thief." The boy smirked at him as they began to form a circle around him.

"Get away from here," Seto muttered to Mokuba.

"But…"

"Go!"

"Yeah, run away, kid! Just like your brother's doing. I bet he's just too _scared_ to become a huntbrother!"

Seto opened his mouth but before he could say anything another voice cut him off.

"You'd better take that back!"

"What…?" The smirk on the boy's face changed suddenly to a very confused expression. "What are you…" He didn't have time to finish his sentence before a fist hit his chin and he fell down to the ground.

Seto stared at Jou, not believing his eyes.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

"What does it look like?" He set his feet apart and balled his fists up, ready for battle. "Hey, watch out, here they come!" ****

Seto avoided narrowly a hit that had been aimed at his stomach, still surprised about Jou's sudden appearance. With few quick moves he was able to get another boy down. The two remaining boys realized that the fight had suddenly turned, two against two, and decided it to be best to run away. The defeated ones gathered themselves to their feet and stumbled after them.

Seto glared after them for a while and turned then his glare to Jou who was looking at him expectantly. "What are you waiting for?" he snapped.

Jou raised his eyebrows. "I just thought that you might want to thank me for my help."

Seto snorted. "I didn't ask your help and I didn't need it. I could have handled them alone."

"Really? One against four?"

"Yes, really!" Seto all but shouted, still angry. "Why did you have to get into this?"

It was Jou's turn to glare at him, he was getting angry as well. "No one picks on my huntbrother."

Seto bit his lip angrily, trying to stay calm. "I haven't agreed to anything, remember?"

Jou gave him a long look, crossing his arms before his chest. "So… were they right? Are you scared?"

"Of course not!"

Jou snorted. "Suuure… Who's gonna believe that? Probably wet yourself when they told you about Hunter's Death…"

Seto jerked his head with an angry move.

"I am _not_ scared!"

"Then prove it!" Jou stepped forward so that he was standing right before the other boy and stared straight into his eyes without a blink.

"Fine! I'll do it! I'll be your huntbrother!"

_Shit. I didn't say that, did I? _****

"You will?"

Jou's sudden grin made Seto extremely wary, what was he getting himself into? "Yes…"

Suddenly the blond boy jumped to his neck, hugging him tightly. "That's great! I was afraid you wouldn't agree."

Seto stood dumbfounded where he was until the other finally let go. Jou grasped his hand, grinning at Mokuba who was beaming beside them.

"I _told_ you he'd agree, Jou!"

"Wha…" Seto turned to stare at his brother. "You what?"

"C'mon, we have to tell others!" Jou started to run towards the mansion. Seto let himself to be dragged away, not really knowing what else to do.

"What have I gotten myself into?" he just muttered too quietly for Jou to hear.

Jou was happily ignorant of his peer's confusion. "Mommy!" he shouted as they run inside. "Mommy, where are you?"

They run through the empty rooms, Jou still keeping his hold of Seto's hand, dragging him along. Finally they came to the Lady's room and burst inside.  "What?" She almost dropped the book she had been reading. "What's going on? Katsuya, haven't I told you to _knock_ before you enter a room… Oh, gods, have you two been fighting _again_?"

"Sorry Mom." Jou was still grinning. "He agreed!"

Lady Jounouchi sighed and placed her book on a table, there would be no reading today it would seem. "Who agreed, and to what?"

"Seto! He's gonna be my huntbrother!"

"Really?" She looked a little surprised. "Are you sure about it?" Now she was looking at Seto.

_No._ "Yes." It was too late to back out now, even though he had agreed only to save his honor. Anyway, he wouldn't prove Jou right by backing down.****

Smiling, she got up from her chair, walked to Seto and hugged him gently. "I can't tell you how glad I am to have you as my son. And Mokuba too…" She smiled at the little boy who hadn't been able to keep up with the older boys and arrived now to the room, completely breathless. "I was desperately trying to come up with a way to keep you here if you hadn't agreed, but now there's no need for that, is there?"

There was something in Seto's throat that made it feel kind of tight. He nodded, not trusting his voice…

-

Seto smiled a little as he remembered her words. She really had treated him and Mokuba as her own sons. Although… he sighed, that wasn't always a good thing: it brought around the eternal threat of home arrest. Which, in his mind, was not fair, since it was usually because of Jou they got stuck in lock-up.

Their fights had not ended that day, far from it; in fact, it would be a wonder if their fighting _ever _ended. Still, things had changed for the better. As time went by, Seto gradually got used to the other boy's "senseless activities," and by the time they had taken the Hunter's Oath they had been friends. At least in the eyes of all others.

And after the Oath…

It really had changed a lot. He no longer remembered the details of the ceremony, nor all those pieces of ancient speeches he'd had a hard time memorizing – although not nearly as hard as Jou. He had vague memories of answering the priest's questions with those centuries old phrases. But what had really stuck in his mind, what had _stamped_ itself on his memory, not to be ever erased, was what happened when the ritual speeches were over.

_"I call the Hunter God to witness…"_

_"Breodan, Hunter, accept this pledge."_

_And there was fire… and darkness and warmth… the call of horns from somewhere far away, the growl of some great beast… The spirit of the Hunt, filling him._

Then the bond had been forged. Suddenly he had been able to feel everything Jou had felt, all the excitement and joy and… love? Such love that one feels towards one's brothers, very similar to what he felt towards Mokuba, but still different, unique.

It had left him completely speechless.

As his initial astonishment had faded away, fear and shame had replaced it. Suddenly he had been afraid of what Jou would feel in him, what he would think when he'd feel all his doubts and hate. Then he had felt a new emotion in Jou, growing mirth. In surprise, he had looked at the blond boy whose hand he had been holding and seen a wide grin on his face. Gradually the feeling had taken a hold of him as well, and suddenly they both had been laughing aloud.

_Silly…_ ****

But to this day he wasn't sure whose thought it had been.

All those feelings they both had felt… reassuring him that here was something else for him to hold to, someone else than Mokuba, but still as real. He had held Jou's hand, not wanting to ever release it, fearing to release it. Suddenly he had understood what Kagemi had meant when he had told him about how difficult it was for the huntbrothers to face their hunters' deaths, and it had made him to grasp the hand even tighter. There hadn't been such fear in Jou, there had not been any place for _death_ in his thoughts, and slowly the feeling had faded to the background. Still, it hadn't vanished completely, and he knew it never would.

He remembered looking at their audience. Lord Kawai and his huntbrother had been looking at them proudly, but he remembered that when he had met Kagemi's eyes for the briefest moment, there had been something sad in them. The elder huntbrother had nodded at him, knowingly, and he had nodded back, ever so slightly. Lady Jounouchi had been watching them too, also proud, but he had seen tears glistening in her eyes, and for a moment he had understood also that fear all mothers had for their children. There had been no trace of fear or sadness on Mokuba's face, though, nor on Shizuka's, they both looked at their elder brothers with beaming smiles. He had turned to look at Jou again, and looking at his eyes he had realized that he would be the one in the relationship who would have to do all the worrying. 

Something hit his window. The sound was very quiet, but enough to draw his attention. Lazily he got up from the bed and walked to the window.  Probably it was some little bird that…_ Oh, no. _

There, underneath his window, was an all too familiar figure, holding little stones in his hand.

Seto opened the window.

"What do you think you're doing?" he whispered fervently to the other boy.

"Me?" It was quite dark, and he couldn't see the other's face clearly, but Seto could easily imagine the innocent expression he was wearing. "What do you mean?"

"Do you have any idea what your mother will do if she finds out that you've left your room? …How _did_ you leave your room?"

"Climbed down the vine. It was easy, you can do it too. Come on now, I want to go to the town. I heard that there's a new bard, just came in. And she's not just any singer, but bard-born! Let's go now!"

Seto sighed. "Jou, go back to your room. We have enough troubles as it is without this…"

Jou grimaced, Seto could be such an old man. "_Come_ on, Seto."

Seto shook his head. "No. This isn't exactly what I'd call wise. Get back to your room before they find out that you're gone."

Jou shrugged. "Well… if you don't want to come, I guess I have to go alone…"

It was Seto's turn to grimace, he couldn't let Jou go wandering around town in the middle of the night. The blond would probably get himself drunk, make a lewd pass at a barmaid and be arrested for assault on her sweetheart. If he was a menace in company, he was a hellion alone, and Jou's mother would never forgive Seto if something happened…

"All right." He took a look at the vine growing outside his window and to his distress, he knew he could climb down it. He sighed, "I'm coming…"

_When will I learn, indeed... _****

* * *

So, that's it for now. Push the button and tell me what you think, okay?

::shuffles away and to bed::


	4. Chapter 4

(…Don't ask me what happened. I'm _sure_ I updated this the other day… but now that I came to see this story this chapter had disappeared somewhere. (is getting very confused) Well, here it is again. I hope it'll stay here this time… is beyond strange sometimes.)

The fourth chapter. I'm sorry it took so long… (still can't believe it's been a month… where did all this time go?!)

Anyway, the review responses:

Yami-loverOB1: Yes, I know, Seto _is_ 'too'… (can't come up with the right word either). But I know what you mean. Thanks for the review, and… I know this isn't exactly _soon_, but better late than never, right?

innominate: Yeah, Seto/Ryou isn't very common… I guess that's the pairing in this cause I got the idea for this when I was reading Pikachmaniac's Fairydust. Very… brainwashing fic. Anyway, yes, the link between Jou and Seto is quite similar to that hikari/yami link. Kind of telepathic. And no, nothing big happened when they sneaked out… in fact, we're going to jump a little ahead in time once again. …but now I started to wonder if I should write a sidefic of that night… suddenly got some ideas. ;)  
_Weird how chapters can vary in response…_ (nods) Indeed. I was reading one fic that got 10 reviews for one chapter, and for the next two (another of which was mine). Weird.

Sarasusamiga: Thanks! Both for the review and the betaish comments – they were really helpful. Yup, I like Tove Jansson's books these days. Didn't like them when I was a kid – I'm not sure why, though. Maybe because they were so popular, everywhere, all the time just the Moomins invading the world. ;)

Tokemi: Thanks for the review! Yep, that was quite 'awwish' chapter.

And as usual many thanks to Rayne-Jelly for betaing.

…I almost forgot… Again, we jump a little forward in time, this time about a year. In other words they're now about 15-16 years old.

(Edit) And another thing I _did_ forget. (sweatdrop) I've used this: _'talking'_ to mark a certain way of communication between Seto and Jou, as well as for Jou 'talking' to the dogs.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

-

As he leaned against a tree trunk somewhere deep in the forests, the faint sound of dog barking reached his ears. For a moment he stood frozen where he was and listened carefully; the barking came from somewhere far away but there was no mistaking it. And… where there were dogs, there were also humans. At least he hoped so.

He started to jog towards the sound.

-

Running as fast as he could Seto tried to catch up with his hunter, although he knew, much to his irritation, that he was already too far behind. Jou was out of sight, somewhere far ahead of him, and had once again been swept away by the hunt. So completely, in fact, that he probably did not even remember having a huntbrother. Seto could feel his excitement through their bond, although he wasn't anymore sure how much of it was Jou's and how much his own.

It was always the same when they hunted, but this time the feeling was even more intense. If they managed to catch their quarry they would be able to take part to this year's Sacred Hunt. Always, before new members were taken into the ranks of Hunters, they had to hunt thrice on their own, bringing in a stag, a boar, and a bear. They already had a stag and a bear, but finding a boar had proved to be much harder. The forests had seemed to be empty of boars – until now.

The beginning of the hunt had gone almost perfectly. The dogs had surrounded the animal and it should have been easy to take him down, but he had suddenly attacked the dogs madly – it was a miracle that they were all still alive – and managed to escape, running surprisingly fast for such a big animal. Jou had chased after him immediately, but Seto had realized that the animal seemed to be turning gradually to left and he had decided not to follow the dogs but take a shortcut to where he thought the boar was headed. The boar turned to left, all right, but the forest had turned into so thick gorse-bushes that he had been forced to turn back. Still, even these setbacks didn't have much effect on his mood. He _knew_ that this boar was theirs.

He just hoped that Jou wouldn't let the excitement of the hunt to get the better of him. He didn't recall an instance where Jou was this excited since the first time he had used his gift and called the Hunter's Trance. Seeing through the eyes of his dogs, first time feeling the connection with them – the connection which would be the most important thing to him after the bond to his huntbrother – he had drained his energy to the point that he had had to spend most of the following week in the bed. In that regard their hunts had gone well, and Seto was truly thankful of that. Jou's uncle had told him about some young hunters who lost their connection to the reality to such extent during their first hunts that as they caught their quarries they had to be held from trying to tear at them as one of the dogs. The older men seemed to think that it was funny, but Seto would have preferred to never witness something like it. Especially not with Jou… He was quite determined not to let it happen. That was one of the most important functions of the huntbrothers, anyway: to be an anchor to reality for their hunters.

He run on, feeling his heart beat fast, trying to breath steadily. To his irritation he knew that he wouldn't be able to catch his hunter.

"Hey!"

He heard the faint voice but decided to ignore it, desperate not to miss the catch before the kill.

"Hey, wait!"

Frowning a little Seto glanced over his shoulder. _I can't be distracted now…_ His eyes caught something white between the tree trunks.

"Please, wait…"

There came a sudden rush of excitement from Jou and he knew that the chase was nearing its end. He should get there as fast as he could, his hunter might need his help…. Then again, it was his responsibility to be the one who was grounded in reality, he needed to be aware of his surroundings Reluctantly, Seto stopped and turned to look behind him.

A young, white haired boy was running towards him, or rather, stumbling. He was completely out of breath, and his face was flushed. Seto frowned, wondering what the boy was doing there in the first place, and why he had to have to come _just_ now. "What do you want?" he asked in a manner that was anything but friendly.

The boy reached him finally and stopped before him smiling tiredly and a little apologetically. "I'm sorry for disturbing you," he said, "but I don't think I could have run any longer, I… well, I'm completely lost."

Seto resisted an urge to roll his eyes. How was it possible to get lost in a forest this small? He was just about to tell the boy to remain where they were, he'd come to get him later, when they heard a blow of a horn announcing the hunt's close. He didn't need it, though, to know that Jou had already finished the hunt – he could feel it, _very_ clearly.

"Damn."

The white haired boy blinked. "What…?"

Seto sighed. "Nothing, really… come with me." He gestured with his hand as he began to continue his way walking. "This'll take a little time, but we can take you to the town."

"Thank you." The other smiled at him. Then he frowned. "Uh… to which town?"

"Shironouchi."

The white haired boy nodded slowly. "Yes… that's fine, thank you. I'm a bit further South than I thought… Um… my name is Ryou."

Seto nodded at him curtly. "I'm Seto. Huntbrother to Lord Jounouchi."

Ryou nodded again. "Nice to meet you. I… I hope I didn't… I mean, I guess you were just hunting…"

Seto waved his hand. "Forget it. I was too far behind anyway."

_'Did you fell asleep in the middle of the hunt or did you get lost?' _Jou's teasing prod cut across his disappointment.

Seto sighed. '_Coming, puppy dog.'_

_'This puppy just made quite a kill! Come to take a look!'_

_'We're almost there.'_ The barking of the dogs grew louder as they approached the site.

_'...We?'_ Confusion, and then curiosity came across quite clearly, but smirking a little Seto decided not to answer anything. Perhaps it was a little mean of him to deliberately keep Jou from knowing, but… it served him right for leaving Seto behind.

'_Thanks a lot, hunt_brother.' Apparently, smirks could also travel through their bond.

"Hey?"

Seto blinked and glanced at Ryou. "What… did you say something?"

"Just asked what you were hunting."

"A boar."

"Oh." Ryou looked a little uneasy.

"What?" Seto asked finally.

Ryou blushed. "Oh, nothing… I just… it's dead, isn't it?"

Seto snorted and the other boy blushed even more. What kind of question was that? Just then he saw a little meadow in front of them. "Seems to be," he said, gesturing towards it. There, close to the meadow's edge lay the boar, the dogs sniffling around the lifeless creature.

"Finally! What were you doing?" Jou was running towards them over the meadow. When he saw Ryou he stopped abruptly.

"_Now_ I understand what took you so long… that certainly beats that ugly beast I was chasing. Where do you find prey like that?"

Ryou blinked. Then he blushed once again, as realization dawned on him. "Uh… I… I'm _not_ a girl…"

Jou looked at him, raising his eyebrows a little in surprise. "Really? Could have fooled me."

This earned a sardonic snort from Seto, "That doesn't require much."

Jou gave him a playful shove, too happy about his quarry to get angry. "C'mon, I brought down that monster, so why don't you carry him home?"

"Very funny. Still, he's not going to walk there on his own, so…"

Ryou glanced at the boar and looked then away, Seto noticed looked at him curiously. "Is something wrong? Can't you bear to see blood or something?"

"No… it's not that." Ryou smiled a little sadly. "I have no problems with blood… I just…" he looked down. "You're going to laugh at me."

Jou had stopped admiring his quarry for a moment, and stared at the white haired boy, too. "What?"

Ryou shrugged a little uncomfortably. "I feel kind of sorry for it. I mean… I know we all have to eat, but…"

Jou gave a little laugh, and Seto glared at him fiercely. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, nothing." Jou raised his hands in surrender. "But you're right. It'd be wonderful if that just walked home… I suppose you can wait here until we get everything ready," he said to Ryou. "Where are you going, anyway?"

"He's lost," Seto said before Ryou had a chance to say anything. He just nodded as Jou looked at him. "I promised that we would take him to the town."

"Sure." Jou nodded. "No problem with that." He turned to the boar. "Okay, dogs, _heel_," he shouted at the dogs that were still sniffling around it. One of them, a big black male, ran to him, barking happily. _'Yeah, Corral, great job. You were all great.'_ The dog barked again. _'C'mon, get back now, all of you.'_ At his command, the dogs backed a little, forming a straight line few feet away.

As the two hunters went to take care of their quarry Ryou remained by the trees of the forest, turning his back to the others. He could hear the blond boy, the Hunter Lord, laughing and his huntbrother muttering something sharp at him, but he ignored it. Glancing cautiously over his shoulder he saw that they didn't anymore pay any attention to him. So he slipped a little ball, like crystal-encased mist, out of his pouch and began to examine it just as carefully as the hunters examined their prey.

-

"Wake up, Jou." Seto nudged his sleeping hunter. "Hey, wake up." A sharper nudge.

"What...?" The blond boy raised his head sleepily. "What's going on?"

"Time to go to bed."

Jou grimaced. "You woke me up so that I can go to sleep? What's the point…"

Seto sighed. "I just thought that you'd rather sleep in your bed than on that chair… Besides, if you slept here you'd torment Ryou all the night with your snoring."

Suddenly Jou was completely awake. "I do not snore!"

"Of course not… it has to be some malevolent imps that make that sound…"

Jou glared at him. "You _are_ a jerk, you know."

Seto fought to keep the smile away from his lips. "Snoring puppy. That's kind of cute."

Ryou watched them silently, not really knowing what to think about their banter as Jou growled quietly, surprisingly closely resembling his dogs. When they had returned from the forest the other boys had invited him to spend the night as their quest, and he had been happy to accept. On the edge of the forest they had met Lord Kawai and Kagemi who had been overseeing the hunt.

The trip home had been a happy one, with Jou babbling about this year's Sacred Hunt that would take place only four weeks from now, which they now were able to take part in. He had noticed, though, that the huntbrother seemed to be much more silent than his hunter. In fact, he seemed almost worried. Jou had noticed it also, and slapped him on the shoulder telling him to stop seeing death behind every tree. The elder men had smiled at the boy's enthusiasm, but they were a little sad to his eyes. Then he remembered all he knew about the Sacred Hunt and realized why.

However, when they finally reached the mansion, Jou's uncle with his huntbrother left immediately to his own estates. As he said, the travels back and forth would take almost three days, and he'd have to take care also of his own affairs and he couldn't be bothered to shepherd overconfident younghunterlings. That comment had naturally received an angry remark from Jou.

Lady Jounouchi had also been away visiting her sister with Shizuka and Mokuba, and so the boys had had the rest of the day to themselves. After seeing that their dogs were taken care of, they had gone in to get something refreshing to drink and celebrate their latest triumph. Jou had been coming up with many ideas of what they could do, but to his dismay Seto and Ryou had soon discovered that they both were interested about pre-Weston history, and… well, it is sufficient to say that it hadn't taken long before he had drifted to sleep.

Now, still feeling quite sleepy, he wished good night to Ryou and turned to leave. By the doorway he looked behind. "Are you coming?"

Seto glanced at him. "In a moment." He turned to give a little crooked small smile at Ryou. "It was nice talking with you," he said. "It isn't often that I get a chance to have an _intelligent_ conversation, keeping in mind who I spend most of my time with…" Behind him Jou snorted, but Seto chose to ignore him. "So,could we continue our talk tomorrow?" he asked Ryou, who looked quickly down, avoiding his eyes.

"I don't know… I'm really in a hurry, and I… I think that I… I… " He fell silent, trying not to blush again, annoyed at his stammering.

"Oh." Seto looked a little disappointed. "I had thought that I'd show you our library… there are some really interesting works there, and some of them are quite unique."

This time Jou literally groaned. He had opened those books only when their teacher had threatened to beat him black and blue if he wouldn't take up his studies. Of course, Seto talking about uneducated doggies had also helped. It hadn't lasted for long, though. Soon the teacher had been threatening him with his stick if he ever again dared so much as _touch_ his precious books.

Ryou bit his lip. "Well… maybe I could stay one more day." He looked up smiling. "I'm not in _such_ a hurry." _Liar…_

Seto's smile brightened a little, and looking straight into his eyes Ryou had to gulp. Such an incredible blue…

"Fine. See you tomorrow. Sleep well." With a little bow Seto left the room.

Ryou stared at the door for a while, trying to define exactly what he was feeling. Then he shook his head. It didn't matter, anyway. Once again he took out the crystal ball.

-

"You seem to like him," Jou stated sleepily.

Seto glanced at him cautiously. "Well, as I said… it's nice to have intelligent…"

"Oh shut up! I don't need that when I'm this tired." Jou shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "What time is it, anyway?"

Seto shrugged. "Past midnight, that's all I know."

"How long were you two talking about history!?"

"We talked about other things too. Like…"

"Please, have mercy, don't tell me. I'll have nightmares."

Seto was silent for a moment. "Mom's going to like him," he said suddenly, thinking aloud.

Jou nodded. "Probably. She'll be home tomorrow morning, won't she…?" As Seto nodded he cursed silently. "Surely she arrives early in the morning and then drags me up…"

Seto snorted. "My heart bleeds for you." He stopped in the front of his door. "Can you put yourself to sleep or do you need help in it?"

"Do you think you're funny or what? Good night."

* * *

**A/N:** It feels to me that this fic is starting somehow… slowly, but I think I'll get to the business in the next chapter. And I promise to give you it sooner… I'm sorry for the wait with this one.

Anyway, reviews are appreciated, as always. : )


	5. Chapter 5

So, we're already up to the fifth chapter? ::blink:: Weird… it doesn't feel like that. Maybe it's cause my chapter's are so short these days…

Anyway, the next chapter is here, introducing a new character. : )

The review responses:

Tokemi: ::grin:: Well, we'll see about the paring. This chapter should give some hints. …actually, a bit more than just 'hints'. Thanks for the review!

Kyrian: 17 reviews by now. Well, if people are stupid enough not to read a good story, how can I help it? ; ) As for the shounen-ai… One of my friends did point out that I said it a little confusingly, but… then I somehow forgot about it. ::sweatdrop:: What I meant to say is that there will be shounen-ai, but it's not S/J – the relationship between Seto and Jou is brotherlike. Sorry about that… and thanks for the review!

Yami-loverOB1: Thanks! I'm really happy that you like this. And yes… you'll find out about everything eventually. Just have patience (and a lot of it. ::sweatdrop:: I'll try to update sooner this time.)

**Disclaimer:** Hmm… I think I haven't been doing this for some time, so let's refresh the memory: I don't own either Yu-Gi-Oh or the books. (Okay, so I do have them in my bookshelf, but besides that…)****

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"Good morning!"

Jou groaned as he heard the annoyingly cheerful voice, made even more irritating because he knew that all of the cheerfulness was intentional. "Go away," he mumbled as he rolled over, turning his back to the voice. The voice didn't answer, but he could hear someone drawing the curtains, and suddenly the blinding beams of the morning sun entered the room.

"Get up, Jou. Your mother is here."

Jou sighed, but didn't move.

"Do you want her to come to wake you? I'm sure she will, if you're not soon downstairs. There's a visitor too."

"Shit." Jou sat up on the bed.

"There are your clothes." Seto threw them to him. "Get up and dressed, and be quick about it." He sat on the bed's edge as Jou began reluctantly to pull on his clothes.

"Who's the guest?" he asked.

Seto shrugged. "I don't know. Didn't even see him clearly. When I saw the carriage driving to the yard I thought it best to come wake you up."

"Yeah… maybe. What about… uhm…" Jou was at a loss this early in the morning, and suddenly he couldn't remember the kid's name, "Our other guest?" ****

"Oh, we ate breakfast together, _hours_ ago… Where's your comb? You have to do something to that mop of yours before we go down."

"Ymph…" Jou produced a comb from somewhere and ran it couple of times through his hair. "Why did you change the subject?"

Seto raised his eyebrows. "When?"

"Just a moment ago. You..." A gigantic yawn cut off his sentence. "God, I'm tired…"

"Too bad. Come now, we have to be going."

"Coming, coming…"

-

Lady Jounouchi shook her head, looking curiously at her guest.

"No, my Lord. I have to say that unfortunately I have not seen anyone like that – but then again, I have been gone from here for some time. Perhaps the boys will know something, if they just… Oh! There they are!"

The young man sitting beside Lady Jounouchi got up when the two boys entered the room.

The Lady gestured towards Jou. "This is my son, Lord Jounouchi." The man bowed at him.

The stranger was quite a striking sight. He was dressed in simple clothes, fit for traveling and quite darkly colored. There was nothing strange in the clothes, but Jou found himself unable to stop staring at the stranger's hair, which pointed wildly in every direction. That in itself was quite… uncommon, to put it mildly, but the hair was also of three different colors, black, red and gold.

_'Bow.'_

Hastily, Jou executed a little belated bow. _'You were worried about_ my _hair? Just take a look at his…'_

"And this," the Lady was saying, "is his huntbrother, Seto." Seto made his bow in time.

"Pleased to meet you," he said, with a quick glare at Jou, who chose to ignore it.

"The pleasure is all mine…" the man muttered bowing to him. "I am called Yami."

They all sat down, and after exchanging few more pleasantries the discussion took a more serious tone.

"Lord Yami tells me…" Lady Jounouchi began, but Yami raised his hand and cut her off.

"Yami will do, as I told you, my Lady."

She nodded slightly. "As you will. Anyway, he told me that he is chasing a thief. Someone has apparently stolen some holy relic… from one of the Gods' altars." She glanced at Yami. "I have to say that you weren't very specific."

Yami waved the comment away by turning to look at the boys. "There is no need to be. The Lady informed me that she had not seen anyone who'd fit my description, but maybe you have. I know that he moved to this direction."

"What does he look like?" Seto asked, while Jou was still trying to wake up properly.

"Just a moment." Yami raised his hands up on the level of his face and hold them there. First, nothing happened, but suddenly a face appeared between his hands.

A face that most definitely belonged to Ryou.

"Holy shit," Jou whispered, as Seto stared at the vision, his mind gone blank.

Yami lowered his hands and the apparition disappeared. "So… have you seen him?"

Jou opened his mouth to answer, but realized then, a little belatedly, in what kind of turmoil his huntbrother's thoughts were. He glanced cautiously at Seto and looked then again at Yami, shaking his head. "No, I can't say that I have seen anyone like him. And I doubt that Seto has either, we've been together most of the time. Right?" He looked again at Seto who nodded, still quite dumbfounded.

Jou looked back at Yami. "I'm sorry that we weren't much help. Maybe some town people have seen him, if you're sure that he's been here." He rose up bowing slightly. "I hope that you will excuse me, but I haven't had breakfast yet."

Lady Jounouchi gave a sigh. "What should I do with you… _h__ow_ do you sleep so late?"

Jou smiled at her. "Late? Me? Anyway, I'm sure that your charming company, Mother, is enough to keep any man satisfied. I am hardly needed here." He bowed again. "Are you coming, Seto?"

"I… yes, sure." He got up and bowed too to Yami, who nodded slightly to them. "If we find out anything new, we will surely tell you," he said as they left.

_'What do you think about that?'_ Jou asked him through their bond, just to be certain that no one heard.

Seto shook his head. _'Ask later again, I can't think _anything_ yet.'_

_'Do you believe him?'_

_'I don't know. I guess we have to talk with Ryou…'_

Jou nodded. _'Read my mind, as usual. But… why were you so shocked? I mean… I was too, of course, but_ that _shocked…'_ He glanced at Seto, slitting his eyes. _'Is there something you haven't told me?'_

_'What do you mean?'_ Those four words carried with themselves a great amount of wariness, and Jou frowned, still staring at his huntbrother.

_'I don't know. Maybe…'_ He paused for a while, concentrating on what he felt from Seto. It wasn't easy, his huntbrother was much better in hiding his emotions than he was, but… Suddenly he stopped.

"Holy _shit_, I say!" He stared at his huntbrother in amazement. Slowly, a wide grin began to form on his lips. "You're falling for that boy! How didn't I notice it earlier?"

"When _do_ you notice anything, anyway?" Seto replied angrily. "And I wouldn't say that I…"

"Oh, but _I_ would. You're falling in love." He shook his head. "I didn't know you swung that way… why didn't you tell me?"

Seto snorted. "Show me someone who'd want to tell _you_ something like that and I'll get him a place in a madhouse."

"That wasn't nice." Jou was still grinning. "So, you have a sweetheart…" The grin widened, if possible. "You probably were just happy that I slept so long today… you haven't been naughty when I wasn't watching you, have you?"

Seto rolled his eyes. "Proves my point… Jou, stop that," he said as the other boy was about to continue. "This situation isn't funny."

With some difficulty, Jou managed to become serious. "Yeah, you're right. But we're here already… isn't this his room?"

Seto nodded and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He knocked harder.

"Maybe he's taking a walk," he said as no one answered this time either. He pushed carefully the door open. "Ryou? Are you there?"

Receiving no answer Seto stepped into the room. The bed was made, the curtains drawn, all in all it wouldn't have been easy to tell that someone had spent a night that room. As he took a look around the room, a little piece of paper on the night table caught his attention. He walked to it, picked it up and read it frowning.

"What's it?" Jou came to read over his shoulder.

_I am sorry to leave without proper goodbyes. I know I promised I would stay for this day, but I'm afraid I won't be able to do that after all. As I said I really am in hurry. Maybe we will meet again someday, but I doubt that. Goodbye and thank you for everything._

_Ryou_

"So," Jou said. "He's gone."

"That's quite obvious," Seto snapped as he crunched the note and slipped it into his pocket.

Jou looked at him, worried. He wasn't used to see his huntbrother in such a surge of emotions, usually _he_ was the one who had to be calmed down, and he really didn't know how to act in a situation like this.

"What should we do? Do you want to tell that Yami guy about this?"

Seto thought about it for a moment and shook then his head wearily. "No… I don't think so. Anyway, we don't have anything to tell him than what he already knows: that Ryou was here. Besides… I don't really trust him. We haven't heard the full story, so we don't know the truth of the matter. I mean… Ryou didn't feel like any thief…"

Jou shrugged. "Maybe… but running away like this is certainly suspicious."

"I know."

Jou glanced at him. "You'd want to leave after him yourself." As Seto said nothing he continued, "We don't have time for that. The Sacred…"

"I know."

"It's possible that we might catch him quickly with the dogs, but it'd make Yami suspicious if we suddenly started to hunt on the roads…"

"I _know._"

Jou fell silent. For some time they stood there in the abandoned room, both of them deep in thought. Finally Jou glanced hesitantly at the other, wondering if it was save to speak.

"What?" Seto asked, not looking at him.

"Do you think he's chasing him with magic? Yami, I mean? He has to be mage-born, judging from that lil' trick he just did."

Seto frowned. "He might be _that_ too…"

"Too?" Jou looked at him questioningly, and got an irritated glance from Seto.

"Don't tell me you didn't notice… or were you so interested about his hair – which, I might add, also should give you some clue, it _is_ quite unordinary – that you didn't notice his eyes?"

"Eyes?" Jou looked at him, baffled. "Yeah, they were weirdly colored, but what about that?"

Seto sighed, giving up. "I think he has to be god-born." [1]

Jou stared at him. "Are you sure?" he finally asked, voice barely a whisper.

"What else could he be, with eyes like that?" [2]

Jou stared at the floor for a moment. "Ryou's in trouble," he said then.

Seto sighed again. "I know."

"And we _still_ don't have time to go after him."

Seto turned to glare at him. "I. Know. When will you get it?"

Jou raised his hands in defense. "Hey, take it easy. I just wanted to be sure…" He took a glance around the room. "Um… maybe we should be going…?" he suggested hesitantly, gesturing towards the door.

Seto shrugged. "Well, there's nothing here for us to do. And stop looking at me like that!"

"Well, I can't help it if I'm worried about you!" Jou retorted angrily. He walked to the door and flung it open. "So you could… could…" Suddenly he forgot what he was saying when he found himself staring at crimson eyes. "Uh… hello…"

Yami nodded at him slightly while looking over his shoulder into the room. For a moment his eyes rested on Seto, but continued soon their scrutiny of the room.

"What… uh… what are you doing here?" Jou asked finally, when the silence was becoming awkward – well, awkward to his mind. Yami didn't seem to notice.

"Me?" The crimson eyes fell again upon the blond boy, and he resisted an urge to gulp. "Since there was no one here to help me," the eyes stared directly into those of Jou, and he bit his cheek to force himself not to look down, "I was leaving. It seems, however, that I am lost."

_Lost? You wouldn't get lost in the hells…_ From somewhere Jou managed to bring a smile on his face. "Oh, then allow us to guide you out of here. This _is_ kind of a big place…" _And why were you walking to the door alone in the first place?_ He looked over his shoulder and saw Seto standing right behind himself. "So, let's go." He pulled Seto out of the room and closed the door. Somehow he felt himself calmer when the door was closed and Yami didn't anymore have a direct view into it.

In silence they began to walk downstairs, Jou glanced at the dignified figure walking beside him. _And… if you were going to leave, why did you come _upstairs_…? I'm not going to be able to rest until you're gone._

Yami turned to look at him and smiled a little as their eyes met. A little hesitantly, Jou returned the smile. _Don't tell me you can read minds…_

"Your huntbrother seems to be very quiet," Yami said suddenly. "Is he concerned for someone?"

"Wha…? Seto? Well…" Jou glanced at the said huntbrother. Seto was walking onward, staring at the floor as if he hadn't heard the question, although Jou very well knew that he had. He grinned at Yami, who – for the first time betraying some emotion – looked a little surprised. "It's nothing serious. His sweetheart just ran away." ****

Seto glared at Jou as Yami glanced at him. "Really? Well, girls do that sometimes."

After that they walked in silence all the way to the main entrance, where they said their goodbyes to the crimson-eyed stranger, much to the relief of them both.

* * *

[1] God-born simply means that another one of someone's parents is a god, if you didn't guess…

[2] Okay, actually the god-born have golden eyes, or something like that (can't remember exactly…) but let's ignore that for a while. ; )

**A/N: **::stretch:: If you have anything to comment, please do. I'll go to sauna now, and then to _sleep_. : )


	6. Chapter 6

I'm really sorry for the long wait… I didn't even realize it's been so long (once again) before I checked when I've last updated and started counting the weeks. ::sweatdrop:: The time just flies past these days… Anyway, here's the sixth chapter, unbetaed at the moment – I'll change this to the betaed version as soon as I can. _And_ this is short… -.- As always, if you spot some mistakes, feel free to point them out.

**Review responses:**

**Yami-loverOB1: **::grin:: Yes, we will definitely see them again. (Yami and Ryou, if you don't anymore remember… ::sweatdrop::) Anyway, thanks for the review! Wow… I think you've always been the first one to review… : )

**Guitarchangel: **No, I don't think you have reviewed before… then again, I'm myself quite absent-minded these days. As for the 'Yami Seto?'… who knows, the first fics I read had that pairing, maybe it's still lurking somewhere in my mind. : ) (Btw, did you change your penname? I started to read one of your stories – the angel one – and now I don't find it anymore. ::sweatdrop:: Teaches _me_ to review…)

**Sarasusamiga:** Ouch. That happened to me one time too many – nowadays I always write my (longer) reviews first on notepad. Stupid , eating reviews… I would have wanted to get that feedback. ::sigh:: Anyway, thanks for the review. : )

**Kyrian:** Hmm… I just have to say this… If you some day want to read a good Seto/Ryou story, try Pikachumaniac's Fairydust. Though I have to warn you – it has some brainwashing traits. (I guess the S/R in this can be blamed on that fic…) Anyway, Yugi and Bakura will get into this too, although we have to wait… I'd say at least to the chapter 10. ::blink:: This story's getting longer than I thought…

**Aramis-chan: **Glad to hear Yami's a bit scary – that's what I was trying to do. ; ) Given who he is in this he _has_ to be a bit scary… As of whether Ryou or Bakura is the thief… ::grin:: I'll leave you guessing. Many thanks for the review!

* * *

**Chapter 6**

A big, black dog with a white belly was sniffling enthusiastically through the bushes by the roadside, his whole body reflecting his excitement. Suddenly he raised his head and turned to look at his master, ears alertly pricked forward. _'Rabbit… Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit…'_

_'No, Corral. Not now. Not today. Tomorrow.'_

The dog shook his head, clearly disappointed, and with an accusing look towards his master turned his attention back to the bushes.

Jou sighed as he watched the dog, feeling a little jealous. Everything was so easy for dogs, so simple. Food, sleep, and hunting, that was pretty much what their world consisted of. Although Seto had once, quite exasperatedly, stated that it applied to Jou as well… The thought almost made him smile. Almost. It also brought back to his mind the reason why he was presently walking alone in the woods behind the King's Castle.

They had arrived to the King's City almost two weeks ago, and those two weeks had really got on his nerves. The days had been full of all kinds of festivities and formal occasions. Day after day, being all dressed-up, having – or trying to have – formal discussions with Ladies and Lords whose names he just _couldn't_ remember, and, shortly put, behaving – or trying to behave – like a Lord himself. He had soon come to the conclusion that he much preferred the Hunter-part of his title. It did little to console him that all the other Hunter Lords seemed to share his opinions. So far, Seto had had to save him from many awkward situations – far too many for either of their likings.

Seto had done his job well, he had to admit that. He had taken care of every little duty the huntbrothers had in quite an exemplary way. It was just that although he did what he was supposed to do, Jou knew that his thoughts were always somewhere else. Even during the ceremony, when they had been in the front of the King himself and he had accepted them into the ranks of the Hunters, Jou had realized that his huntbrother's thoughts were again drifting away.

_How difficult can it be to forget that boy_, he thought, irritated, as he followed his dog deeper into the forest. _It's not as if I had something against him falling in love, but…_ With an angry move he kicked a stone into the bushes, making Corral jump a little in surprise.

_I'm trying to concentrate on the coming Hunt, but sometimes I wonder if he even remembers why we are here…_ Another stone flew away. _He just does his chores like a sleepwalker, and…_

Suddenly he felt something cold and wet touching his hand. He looked down in surprise and saw Corral sitting beside him, staring at him with what could almost be called a worried expression. He smiled a little.

"Don't worry, boy, I'm fine," he said aloud ruffling the dog's head gently. Jumping on his feet Corral pushed him softly, then ran a little forward and turned to look behind, expectantly, tongue hanging out. _'Rabbit… hunt…?'_ The question was as clear to Jou as if the dog had talked. Sadly he shook his head.

"Not today. I'm sorry, I'd love to hunt, but I've got other things to do today."

"I'm glad you remember."

The sullen voice behind his back made Jou jump a little. With a sigh he turned around. Seto was standing a few feet away, eyeing him angrily, not even trying to hide his frustration. Jou resisted an urge to roll his eyes.

"What now? I know I haven't done anything wrong today, what are you getting so pissed off about now?"

Seto glared at him for a moment and said then, as calmly as he could, "Do you happen to remember what day it is today?"

"The day before the Hunt," was Jou's immediate reply. Then he snorted. "I'm a little surprised _you_ remembered that…"

Seto frowned, he hadn't expected that. "Of course I do. What do you mean?"

"What'd you think?!" Jou's own frustration was starting to get the better of him. "It's a wonder you remember anything nowadays, since the only thing in your mind seems to be a certain mop of white hair!"

Seto stiffened slightly, his face turning expressionless. Instinctively he raised up all the mental barriers he had. Jou couldn't help noticing that, and it did little to make his mood better.

"I have done everything I am supposed to do," Seto was saying, dangerously calmly. "You shouldn't have anything to complain about. What goes on in my mind is none of your business."

"You're my huntbrother, damn you!"

"Yes, I'm your huntbrother! Not one of your dogs… and _not_ your property. I think what I want to."

Jou, still angry, was trying to come up with something to say, but Seto raised his hands, cutting him off. "Enough. This is enough, we don't have time for this. You're right, it is the day before your precious hunt – the hunt which is probably going to lead to your death someday, I might add… Do you also happen to remember what happens tonight?"

"Ye-ees, there's that great party, which… oh shit… it isn't that late yet, is it?"

"Late is just the right word," Seto muttered tiredly. "You'd better hurry up." He took a long look at his huntbrother and shook his head. "Go change your clothes while I take Corral away, and be quick about it."

His words had a commanding tone, and Jou lingered for a while where he was, glowering at Seto, not wanting to be ordered around.

Seto frowned. "Didn't you hear me? Go now! C'mon, Corral," he said turning around and heading towards the kennels.

Jou shrugged angrily and went on his way without saying anything. He hadn't walked for long when he heard Seto's voice behind him.

"Hey…"

"What?" he snapped angrily over his shoulder.

"The dog."

Jou blinked and looked behind. True enough, Corral was standing behind him; since he had not told the dog to follow Seto he had come along after him. With a little smirk he patted the dog gently, deliberately taking a long time. _'Good boy.'_ Corral's tail waved happily. "It's okay," Jou said aloud. "Go with him." With one more hesitant look at him Corral left his side and trotted reluctantly to Seto.

–

It was a busy evening in the inns of the King's City. The upcoming Sacred Hunt had attracted lots of people into the city, both from far and near. They all hoped to catch even a glimpse of the beginning of the Hunt, or, if that wasn't possible, to see as many Hunter Lords and their Ladies traveling on the streets as possible.

_The Bucking Pony_ was also as full of people as possible, or so it seemed to the hooded figure who sat alone at a little corner table. He wasn't sure if he was glad about this or not. Yes, it was easy for him to stay unnoticed in such a crowd, but on the other hand he was worried that _he_ wouldn't notice the one he was looking for. As a matter of fact, he was afraid that this had already happened. The evening was turning into night, but there was no sign of the girl he was waiting for. He knew that she would have to appear soon. Anyway, it hadn't been night in his vision.

He leaned against his table, stared at the door, and waited.

There seemed to be a constant flow of people going in and out of that door. Men and women, drunk and sober, richer and poorer… well, richer and less rich, to be exact. What he really was glad about was that _The Bucking Pony_ was an inn of a better quality, and all those who were too drunk or started to bother other customers were swiftly dealt with, and there weren't many to begin with.

Three men left the inn, laughing noisily and quite drunkenly, and earning disapproving looks from the middle-aged couple that was just coming in. The boy stared at the tsk-ing woman sleepily, wondering how she would react to some real drunkards there were in some poorer inns. She'd probably… probably… With a start he sat up in his chair, staring at the slender figure that had slipped into the inn after the couple. It was a woman, probably young, although it was difficult to tell since she was dressed in a travelling cloak, which covered her from head to toe. Still, he was quite sure that this was the one he had been waiting for. No, he _knew_ that she was the one.

Quickly he left his table and rushed after the girl who was climbing up the stairs.

"Hey! Milady, please… uh, I'm sorry…" It took him a little time to get past a group of young people who were just coming downstairs. "Hey, wait!"

The girl turned to look behind. "I'm sorry, were you talking to me?"

"Uh, yes, I…" He felt his cheeks turning hot and was really glad about the hood he was wearing. "I need to speak with you."

The girl sighed. "I really don't have time right now." Her voice was low, and quite impatient. "I am just going to get my things from my room, and then I'm going…" she cut herself off. "Did someone send you?" she asked suddenly.

"No… I…" The boy glanced nervously at the people who were passing them on the narrow stairs. "Please, it doesn't take long, I…" He locked his eyes onto those of the girl, or tried to. It wasn't that easy since her face was completely hidden beneath her hood. Suddenly it struck him what an odd couple they had to be, both hooded and whispering in the middle of the stairs. Well, at least _he_ was whispering.

"I am sorry, I really have to go," the girl said turning around.

"No! Wait…" He grasped the girl's arm, making her stop and getting a peculiar look from a man who was walking past them. "You… you're a seer too, aren't you?" he whispered fervently to the girl, and felt her tense a little.

"What do you mean?" This time her voice was barely more than a whisper too. She started to climb slowly up and the boy followed her.

"Last night I looked into my crystal and it showed you to me. I know you're seer-born, so you know that if the crystal shows something, there has to be some purpose."

The girl was quiet for a moment, and when she talked again there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice. "It showed… me to you? What did I look like?"

"Well…" the boy frowned. "Quite young, maybe… I don't know… but over twenty anyway, and you're quite pale and have dark long hair… I don't think that you're Breodani," he finished.

The girl nodded slowly. "I am not …" She stopped in front of a door and opened it. For a moment she hesitated, then gestured then to the boy to step inside. "Come in, maybe we have time to talk a little before I leave." She removed her hood, looking seriously at the boy, confirming to him that she really was the one from his vision. She was tall and slender, maybe a little older than he had first thought. Her pale skin was in stark contrast to her dark, straight hair that fell down her shoulders over her midnight-blue hood. Definitely not one of the fair Breodani.

She nodded slightly at the boy. "I am Evayne a'Nolan."

The boy bowed back to her. "I… I'm Ryou," he said.

* * *

**A/N:** Evayne's not an OC, she's from the books. Btw… does anyone there have any idea what color her freaking eyes are? Probably not, if you don' even know the books… I'm _sure_ it's mentioned there somewhere, I just can't find it. --;; I remember they were quite pale, but other than that… 

That was pretty short chapter, I know, but the next one will be (a lot) longer. It's already almost as long as this, and there's still much to be written…. I try to get it out faster than this.

Now… it's time to do some shameless self-promotion. ; ) Ever seen _Galaxy Express 999_? It is _really_ good, believe me. (Okay, so that wasn't the self-promotion…) I wrote one short ficlet for it couple of days ago, but the fandom seems to be quite small – so far there are two fics in , another of them mine. So, if you have time, why don't you take a look on it? It has only about 500 words, it won't take long… okay, okay, I'll shut up now.


	7. Chapter 7

Here we go… chapter 7 and the Sacred Hunt. That's pretty much all that happens in this chapter, and even so this is longer than my chappies have been lately…

**Review Responses:**

Ouvalyrin: "He's all jealous little brother-like, I think." ::grin:: I was aiming for something like that, good to hear it's working. And… ::poke:: ish not a crappy review… it's not even close to a 'crappy review'. Thanks! : )

Yami-loverOB1: You have to wait a little more to find out about Evayne… This chapter deals only with Jou and Seto. We'll see Ryou again in the next chapter… and I think Evayne will re-emerge in the ninth. Thanks for the review!

Sarasusa: Wow. Feel free to give your 'grammatical notelets', if you have the time to do that. : ) They really are quite helpful. As for the books, they are worth reading. ::nods:: Not the best books I've read, but still… I just started to read the Sun Sword series, which is kind of continuation to them – and it's even better (so far). Anyways, thanks a lot!

And thanks to Rayne-Jelly for betaing this!

* * *

**Chapter 7**

The sound of the drums filled the air, steady and deep, with a tuneless music all their own. Seto listened to them as he tried to restrain the overly eager dogs; it really felt like they were trying to tear his arms off… Jou stood beside him, already absorbed by the trance, and Seto was really happy about that.

Seto well knew that it wasn't very wise, to begin the Sacred Hunt while they still were at odds. They should have settled their quarrel last night when they had the chance, but last night had not gone well. Especially after he had spotted a very familiar tri-colored head among the guests…

-

_"Hey, where are you going, Seto?"_

_"I'll be right back." The tri-colored head of hair had disappeared into the crowd, and Seto quickly followed after it, leaving his hunter and the two young ladies they had been talking with to stare after him in bewilderment._

_There. It was Yami, there was no doubt about it. By now, Yami had also noticed him, and was walking towards him._

_"I was wondering whether I would meet you here," Yami said bowing slightly as they reached each other._

_"I have to say that I am a little surprised to meet _you_ here," Seto answered returning the bow._

_Yami shrugged. "My 'hunt' lead me to this city," he said, "and I thought that I might use this opportunity to take care of few things here."_

_Seto nodded slowly. There were many questions he wanted to ask, far too many, and he knew that he couldn't voice even half of them. Still, there was one thing he had to know._

_"You are god-born, right?"_

_Yami smiled a little crookedly. "Goddess-born, if so can be said…"_

-

Seto shook his head. That was all he had been able to get out of the short mage. _Goddess-_born? That had made him even more worried than he had been before. Then there was the fact, of course, that since Yami was in the city, apparently Ryou too was there somewhere. He had wanted to be alone for a while and had slipped out to a balcony without anyone noticing. Needless to say, Jou had not been happy when he had finally found him. They had exchanged some angry words, and spent the rest of the night avoiding each other's company.

Goddess… that wasn't a good sign. Once again, as he had countless times before, he recited all the Goddesses he knew by memory. There weren't that many.

_Mother, first of all…_ _highly_ _unlikely_. He really couldn't imagine the cold-eyed man as mother-born. _Then there's Kalliaris, Goddess of luck. Doesn't sound probable, either. And Laursana and Karatia aren't really female… or male, they're both… or neither._

That left only one choice... _The Lady._

The bringer of death.

Somehow, that felt very fitting.

Seto shifted anxiously, but then he heard it: one single, haunting note of the King's horn. Together with his thoughts, it shattered all the noise around him and was soon followed by three shorter blasts. He saw Jou and the other Hunter Lords raise their horns to their lips. They played them in unison, in such a perfect harmony that Seto wouldn't have believed it to be possible. As the hunters lowered their horns he suddenly noticed that he had already raised his own. He blew it, exactly at the same time with all the other huntbrothers: one short note, one long, two short notes, one long. The drumming got faster and faster, filling the clearing where they were standing with thundering notes. And then, finally, all thoughts of Ryou and Goddesses and death slipped away from his mind, the Hunt was about to begin.****

-

"Damn it!"

Not_ again. _Seto listened to the dogs and knew that he was once again being left behind. He shook his head in frustration. This time, there was no reason, no excuse… except that he was sure that Jou had never been this fast before. He was really utilizing his trance to the fullest.

He did the only thing he could: ran.

-

Somewhere ahead of him, Jou ran with his dogs. A young stag was flying from them through the forest, he could see a glimpse of it every now and then through the eyes of Corral, who was running foremost of his dogs right now. He knew that he would get this stag; never before had he felt the connection between him and the dogs as strong as he did today, never before had they obeyed him this fast and well. It was as if they were parts of his own body, in direct control of his mind.

All his attention was on his quarry, and so he didn't notice how the bushes somewhere behind him rustled and the shadows stirred.

He didn't notice, not before he felt a twinge of panic, fear, _pain_ from Gira, a red-brown bitch of his pack… and then… nothing.

With a wordless cry he stopped running, almost stumbling down. The dogs stopped as well, knowing that something had happened, something bad, something that _shouldn't_ have happened… Out of breath he glanced over his shoulder, at the brutal noise of feeding.

There was something among the trees, something big, something whose shape he couldn't determine, as though it were shadow; from one beast to other, he couldn't really make out its shape, it… Suddenly the thing raised its head and looked straight at him, and as Jou gazed at its multicolored eyes, he knew what he was facing. Something that his uncle had told him came suddenly to his mind.

_"No one knows what the Hunter's Death looks like… all who have seen it have died."_

He turned around and began to run.

-

_Jou…_

A sudden rush of pure fear had made Seto stop as well. _'Jou, what is it?'_ he asked through their bond, but didn't get any answer. _'Jou?'_

There was nothing, just the fear and terror. He began to run again, faster than he had run ever before.

-

Behind him, Jou could hear the roaring of the great beast, and he ran, ran so hard he was afraid he would choke on air. His dogs ran around him, growling every now and then at the beast that was after them, but he didn't have the strength even for that. A quick, random thought flashed in his mind, _I guess I should be proud that my death's going to ensure the well being of our people next year… _but it was very soon replaced by a quite desperate _I don't want to die!_ (1)

The beast was close, he knew that, he was sure that it'd reach him during the next minute or so. It was fast, _very_ fast, there was no way he would ever be able to outrun it… For a moment he considered turning around and facing it instead of running like a rabbit, but then again, the stag hadn't turned around and faced him. Suddenly he felt a little sorry for the stag, wondering whether it too had been this terrified.

He could almost feel the beast's hot breath behind his back – or maybe it was only his imagination. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that it was close, too close. His side was hurting more than it ever had, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep on running much longer. Suddenly he came to a stumbling end, turning to face the beast, knowing he couldn't run anymore. Gasping for air he stared at the swiftly approaching monster, clutching his spear in his hand.

Suddenly he saw from the corner of his eye a flash of something black, something that struck its teeth at the beast's right elbow… It shook its head howling in anger, and with one quick movement sent the black dog flying across the air. The dog hit against a tree trunk with great force, fell down and didn't move anymore. Jou fell down as well, staring at the dead dog in dumb pain as another life-bond was shattered. _'Corral… Corral?'_

The only thing that was able to draw him away from his dull state was the twinge of pain he felt from yet another of his dogs. _'Ger…'_ He raised his head abruptly just in time to see how the beast seized the neck of a gray dog between its jaws, and _crunched_.

"Gerin!"

He sprung to his feet, suddenly full of blind anger, and hoisted his spear again. "Leave my dogs be!" he shrieked as he threw the spear at the monster. Despite his anger his aim was good, and the spear hit the beast's left eye. It roared, this bellow of pain reducing its previous ones to the sounds of weak puppies, and Jou fell to his knees again. The spear didn't seem to have any effect. It stuck out of the beast's eye, snapping in two as it hit a tree trunk when the beast shook its head. It turned to stare at the kneeling boy – suddenly Jou realized that he really was _kneeling_ – with its one good eye. The dogs around them growled quietly, wanting to attack the one who threatened their master, but Jou held them back, knowing that they wouldn't be able to bring any harm on this one. He didn't want to lose any more dogs before he died.

Just then he heard a blow of a horn. He had never before heard a note like this, it wasn't any of those he had practiced, and he was pretty sure that it wasn't any of the huntbrother's calls either. It was long, very long, he knew that whoever had blown it must have been quite out of breath when it finally ended. Soon it began again, a long, desperate note, drawing the beast's attention to itself.

As he watched, the beast turned to look at the direction from where the call came. It stared into the forest, and suddenly, as silently as it had in the beginning followed him, it ran away.

-

From somewhere ahead of him, Seto heard a roar of some great beast, such a roar as he had never heard in his life before, and never wanted to hear again. It brought terror to his heart, as great as that which he felt from Jou, and he ran desperately towards it, fearing it to be what he knew it was.

_Not him, Lord, not him…_ He tried to pray as he ran, although he knew that it wouldn't help. The Sacred Hunt was not the right time for praying. And he knew that their mother, as well as Shizuka and Mokuba, had already offered their prayers for their safe return. If they weren't enough…

The dogs were growling, he could hear them too now. Suddenly there was an angry shriek, like a scream of pain, and he shivered as he heard it, for he knew the voice all too well.

"Leave my dogs be!"

Roaring. He had to stop running and press his hands on his ears as he heard it, and still he had difficulties in staying on his feet. _Jou… I'm coming, hold on… Jou…_

He raised his eyes from the ground in despair, knowing that he would be too late. Suddenly he realized that his right hand had grasped his horn, a beautiful and delicate horn made of some wood he didn't recognize that he had gotten from Kagemi. He stared at it for a moment, and raised it then to his lips. He blew into it, not any of those notes he had carefully practiced, just blew, putting into that one note all the feelings he had, all the fear and despair, as well as his prayer. _Not him, Lord, please…_

He didn't stop blowing until he was forced to draw breath. He inhaled deeply, and placed then the horn back to his lips. Another long note echoed in the air, as desperate as the previous, but this one had also a challenging tone in it.

As he lowered the horn again, he listened keenly, but didn't hear anything. Still, as he stared into the silent forest his instincts told him, very clearly, to run away. Carefully he reached out for Jou, and to his relief realized that the other boy was fine… at least physically.

With one more look into the forest he turned around and began, once more, to run.

-

Jou stared dumbly after the leaving beast. His mind refused to comprehend what just had happened, he _knew_ that he should be dead by now. But the beast was leaving. He couldn't anymore see it among the trees, nor hear a sound that it made. The forest was silent and peaceful, as if nothing unusual had happened. Except… slowly he lowered his eyes to the dead dogs lying on the blood-covered land.

_'Corral? Corral, please… Gira, Ger, don't… please…'_

Something wet touched his cheek and he turned to look into sad dog eyes which stared at him unblinkingly. _'Feron…'_ He wrapped his hands around the dog's neck and buried his face into the soft fur. Silently all the remaining dogs gathered around him, eyes watching keenly the surrounding forest, as if they were standing at guard – which they were.

-

As he ran, Seto glanced quickly over his shoulder. It seemed to him that something moved there among the trees, rustling softly their leaves. After that he didn't look back again. _If that thing is what I think it is, I really don't want to see it…_

When he had blown his horn, he really hadn't thought about what he was doing. It had been an instinct, something he _had_ to do, to save his hunter. Now he was beginning to wonder what he had gotten himself into, and how on earth he'd ever survive it. Frantically he tried to remember exactly where in the forest he was, and whether there would be anything near that might help him. Small rocky hills to the left, and a little river somewhere on his right side… too far. Besides, he didn't really believe that a river would stop his pursuer.

_At least Jou is safe… he's a pain sometimes, but don't even imagine that I'd let you kill him…_ He resisted an urge to look back. After all, he didn't have to. Now he could hear the noise the great beast made, and he realized that it was catching up with him quickly.

_Running won't help… but what the hell can I do? That thing doesn't leave before it's got its quarry…_

He ran on, gasping for breath and still grasping his horn in his hand. _Jou turned to face it…_ He was sure about this, although he hadn't seen it. _But that doesn't help either, it can't be killed._

He took a quick glance around. There was nothing that could be of help, just ordinary forest. But just ahead there was a small hill, a great oak tree growing in the middle of it. There were no other trees around it; the oak seemed to rule the forest from its throne. It caught Seto's attention and he aimed his way towards it, running again a little faster. As good a place for dying as any other.

He ran up the hill, and as he reached the oak he turned swiftly around and leaned against it, gazing intently into the forest. Something was moving in there, approaching fast. Still quite out of breath he realized that he was still holding his horn, and placed it again on his lips. He closed his eyes as he winded it once more.

_Come then, come and get me. I'm not afraid of you, not anymore. I've fulfilled my oath, hunted with my hunter and protected him. He lives, and that's what matters._

Eyes still closed he lowered his horn, listening for its sound echoing in the forest, slowly dying away. When the silence fell, it was complete. The only thing Seto could hear was the humming of blood in his ears, and he placed softly his hand on his heart, trying to calm it down.

Nothing happened.

_What's taking it so long…?_

As the silence stretched into long moments, Seto carefully opened his eyes. There was nothing around. The forest was still, nothing moved in it, and he took few steps forward glancing around in bewilderment as he realized that he really was all alone.

-

Feeling more tired than he had ever before, Seto walked out of the King's Castle heading towards the kennels. He had spent a long time talking with Lord Kawai and his huntbrother about what had happened. He had told them everything he knew over and over again, but it didn't seem to satisfy them. In the end, Jou's uncle had just stated (shaking his head in disbelief) that the two boys really had to be Kalliaris's favorites. Kagemi hadn't said anything, but he kept on staring at Seto's horn, as if wondering what other notes could be produced from it.

Now he was, for the second time during the day, searching for his hunter. Last time it had taken him a very long time to find Jou. After he had left from the small hill, he had tried to reach the other through their bond, but hadn't received any answer. Still, what he had _felt_ from Jou had been answer enough for him, and he had carefully blocked out all the feelings that were flowing towards him. One of them had to keep his wits about him, and that had always been the huntbrother's job.

The hunt had been called to a close before he had found the blond boy sitting on the ground under the forest's great trees, gently holding the head of a dead dog in his arms. He had helped Jou up, and in silence, and they walked to the others. There he had avoided, as much as he could, looking at the dead huntbrother whose body was carried out of the forest. He knew that the man had died in his place, that it was really a miracle that he was still walking on this land. And the same applied to Jou… The thought had made him to shiver a little, and to tighten his grip of his hunter's hand.

This time he did not have any doubts where he would find the blond boy. Without hesitation he walked into the kennels and headed towards the place where he knew that their dogs were kept. The boys who had been cleaning the kennel floor glanced after him, but didn't say anything, they could easily guess where he was going.

As he reached the cage of their dogs, he saw that its door was open. Stopping by it he looked inside. Jou was sitting there on the floor, in the middle of what looked like a pool of dogs, holding one of them in his arms. Some of the dogs raised their heads and glanced at Seto quietly, but when they saw who the intruder was, they lay back down. Silently he stepped inside, and the dogs moved a little to make him room as he sat on the floor beside Jou. It seemed as if Jou didn't even notice that he had arrived, but after a while the blond boy leaned softly against his huntbrother, a quiet sigh escaping his lips. Seto embraced him gently, not saying anything. He knew well that this wasn't the right time for words.

As the night slowly crept over the city, filling the streets and homes with its silence, the two boys sat together on the kennel floor, leaning against each other, drawing warmth from the pack dogs that surrounded them.

* * *

(1) To make Jou's thoughts a little clearer – remember what Seto was told in the first chapter? "Once in a year the Sacred Hunt has to be called. All the Hunter Lords and their huntbrothers gather to hunt in the King's forests, and the God comes to Hunt them. Every year, one of the Lords or their brothers dies in that hunt." If that doesn't happen… let's just say that the results will be much worse than just one person dying. 

-

Yes, I know… I'm 'breaking the rules'. Jou should be dead by now, after seeing the Hunter's Death, but for Pete's sake, I can't kill him off! Then I'd have to kill Seto too, and this story would be over… ::sweat drop::

(... Pete's sake? Why Pete? Why not John, or someone else?)

Anyway, I'm glad I managed to update today – I'm heading for Alaska tomorrow. Plane leaves at 7 am… (x.x) Hee! I've never been that far away from home – the time difference between Finland and Anchorage is 11 hours. (Let's see how I'll survive it…)

Next chapter will be out… some day. I guess it'll take two weeks at the least, since I'm not going to do anything about it next week.

…leaving tomorrow! ::is getting excited::


	8. Chapter 8

I really should be sleeping now… x.x

_Very_ many thanks to **Elle-Fate2x1-2**, **Yami-lover0B1** and **KaibasSweetie** for reviewing. Sorry, I'm too tired to write review responses right now… next time. At least you have the chapter here…

Yes… and thanks to **Sarasusamiga** for her great betaing. Dunno what I'd do without my betas… ::sweat drop::

* * *

**Chapter 8**

The early morning breeze carried the smell of baked bread from some nearby bakery. The smell made Jou realize that he hadn't eaten anything since before the Hunt… but then again, he didn't really feel hungry. The thought made him smile a little, and he thought that his sister most definitely wouldn't have let that pass without a few teasing comments. _Not hungry!? Are you sure you aren't sick, big brother?_

He sighed, and the smile disappeared from his face. _No sis, I'm not sure,_ he thought, as he walked lazily onwards, not paying any attention to where he was going. Feron trotted beside him, a big copper brown dog with a few black patches. When he had woken up early in the morning, half buried among his dogs and with Seto snoring lightly by his side, he had decided that it'd be best for him to take a little walk to get his thoughts back in order. At his command the dogs had given him room and stayed quiet as he had gathered himself up from the floor, somehow managing to do it without waking Seto up. He had told the dogs to stay with Seto, but Feron had disobeyed him and followed him out. First it had irritated him, but now he was glad of the dog's company.

The streets were quiet; only a few people were awake this early. Jou was glad of this too, the last thing he needed was a big, noisy crowd.

It felt strange, that three of his dogs were dead. Earlier he had not noticed it, but now he realized that even when he was away from his dogs he could feel them somewhere in the back of his mind. There was always this subconscious bond between them, even when he wasn't thinking about it. Now the bond had been shattered, shattered _thrice_, and it left him feeling much more vulnerable than he liked.

Feron glanced at him, and he could feel the dog's worry. It was reassuring. It reminded him that he had not lost everything. The majority of his dogs were still alive – and Seto as well.

Seto.

He had come closer than he even dared to think to losing his huntbrother too. The thought made him shiver. If Seto had died… no, he didn't even want to think about it.

_But I guess I have to think about it… I can't just ignore it_.

He couldn't just ignore the fact that his huntbrother had almost gotten himself killed while saving his life… saving his life although he had been behaving like a complete jackass lately. Anyway, Seto _had_ done everything he was supposed to do and it certainly wasn't his fault if he was worried over that boy and couldn't forget him. Being jealous didn't give Jou any right to behave as he had… jealous.

He sighed. Maybe he had been jealous, then… It had just felt so strange that someone else could have become so important to Seto, and so quickly. It didn't feel right, Seto was _his_ huntbrother after all.

Now it seemed merely childish. And he couldn't help wondering if their quarrels had been the reason why the Hunter's Death had chosen him as its quarry. He shivered again as he remembered the great beast and the look in its eyes. Eyes that had not seemed to belong to any sentient being… _I wonder if that thing was able to _choose_ anything, or if it just… hunted._

It had hunted, and killed his dogs. Absentmindedly he reached out and patted Feron's head. The dead dogs had been brought out of the forest; when they arrived in Shironouchi they would give them a fitting burial. Brave dogs. With a tight feeling in his throat he wondered if he would ever be able to find dogs that would be anywhere near as good. He did know that nothing would ever replace Corral…

The door of an inn on the other side of the street opened and someone stepped out of it. Jou wouldn't have paid any attention, but Feron had stopped and was staring intensely at the stranger.

"What is it, boy?" he asked, taking a look at the cloaked figure that was walking swiftly away from them. "C'mon, let's go."

Feron ignored him, and Jou frowned a little. _'You know, sometimes I think you're a little_ too _stubborn'_ he said to the dog, but it didn't even flinch. Instead, it barked once. The figure turned to look behind and in the dim morning light Jou could see white bangs under its hood.

_White bangs?_

The figure noticed Jou with a start and turned abruptly around, continuing on his way even faster than before.

Jou blinked. _That looked almost like…_ "Hey, wait!" he shouted, but was again ignored. "Ryou?"

The cloaked figure began to run.

_'Let's get him!'_ He ran after the escaping boy, and with a little grunt Feron followed him.

It was only a matter of minutes. They had been too close to the white-haired boy for him to have any chance to escape into the empty streets of a foreign city. Feron ran to his side baring his teeth and growling quietly, and getting the message Ryou stopped hastily.

Jou caught up with them soon. Seeing that Feron would have no problems in catching the boy, he hadn't even bothered to call the trance.

Ryou stood still, eyes lowered to the ground. His hood had fallen back when he was running and revealed his white hair, confirming to Jou that this really was their mysterious guest.

"So," he said, walking calmly to the boy who stubbornly kept on staring at the ground. "I have to say that you left quite hastily. I wonder if you have any idea of the troubles you've caused…"

He slit his eyes as he watched the white-haired boy who finally raised his gaze in surprise. "Troubles…? I… didn't mean to…"

Jou snorted. "Of course not." Suddenly he grabbed the boy's arm. "But now I think that you're coming with me. You owe us an explanation."

Ryou shifted nervously. "I… I'm sorry, I really don't have time…"

Jou ignored him and started to drag him towards the castle – or towards the general direction where he thought the castle was. He really hadn't paid any attention to where he had walked. First Ryou tried to pull his arm free from the blond boy's grip, but when Feron flashed his teeth at him again he gulped once and followed without further resistance.

Jou walked on feeling curiously angry. He knew that none of this was really Ryou's fault, but still some part of him blamed the other boy for everything that had happened. Well, he'd take the boy to Seto, and those two could sort out everything that was between them… maybe things would return to normal then. Now, if he could only manage to find the castle…

_'Feron… find the Castle.'_

He could have sworn that the dog was smirking as it began to lead their way.

-

After waking up alone on the kennel floor in the middle of the dogs, Seto had first considered trying to find Jou, but had then decided that it might do the blond boy good to be alone for a while. So, he had returned to their rooms in the castle to oversee the packing. They were, after all, going to leave for home this evening. Right now he was feeling quite frustrated about the slight chaos that had taken over in their lodgings. Honestly, it was unbelievable how much stuff two boys needed for staying a couple of weeks in the court.

He was feeling quite stiff after sleeping the whole night on the floor, and it really didn't improve his mood at all. _Last time I'm going to do something like that. _He glanced at the clock on the wall. _He's been gone quite long… hope he's going to return soon, there are things he should…_ Just then he heard Jou's voice in the corridor.

"…then take him to the kennel! I don't have time for that, I have to see my huntbrother."

Seto sighed as he walked to the door. "Have you brought one of your dogs in_ again_? Haven't I told you…" In the corridor a servant was taking Feron away, glancing disapprovingly towards Jou, who was… Seto almost bit his tongue as he saw whom his hunter was dragging towards him.

"Look who followed me home," Jou grinned, as he pushed the white-haired boy in front of his huntbrother. Ryou smiled hesitantly, not knowing what to say. Seto stared at him, blinking slowly.

"C'mon now," Jou exclaimed finally when neither of them said anything. "I thought you'd like to see him. And _I'd_ really like to know why he ran away like that… or if he really is the thief that…"

"Jou!" Seto hissed. "Be _quiet_." He glanced suspiciously at the servants who appeared to be just minding their own business, but… he knew better. No one gossiped like servants. "Get in there." He pushed the other boys into an empty, little room on the other side of the corridor and closed the door behind them.

"So…" he said as he turned to look at Ryou, who was suddenly feeling very hot. "Jou is right, for once. You do owe us some explanations."

Ryou licked his lips nervously. "I guess so," he muttered. "Umm… I assume that a man with tri-colored hair came to visit you…?"

"Indeed he did. How did you know he was coming?" Seto asked. "I mean… from the way you left so suddenly it seems that you did know."

Ryou nodded. "Yes. I… I saw him coming with my crystal. I'm a seer, you see," he added as he saw Jou's baffled expression.

"Really?" Jou asked doubtfully. "So why didn't your crystal show you me catching you?"

"It doesn't work at my command. It shows me things when it does… and, well, it didn't show me you."

Seto waved his hand impatiently. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that… did you steal that item?"

"No."

Jou snorted. "Of course not. But the face Yami showed us quite clearly belonged to you. Or do you have an evil twin?"

"Well…" Ryou took a hesitant look around. He really didn't want to tell them anything, but he didn't know what else he could do. "I didn't steal it," he muttered quietly.

Seto looked at him gravely. "Still, it is clear that you are fleeing from Yami… and Jou is right, it was your face he showed to us. So maybe it would be best if we just took you to him. At least it would be easy, since he's right now residing in this castle."

Ryou's already pale face paled even more. "No! You… you can't take me to him, I… I have to…" he fell silent.

"Have to what?" Seto asked quietly, but the other remained silent. He sighed. "Look, Ryou… just tell us the truth."

Ryou sighed as well. _Damn it all, why did he have to find me?_ "The truth is…" he began hesitantly. Then he glanced at Jou. "He was right, kind of… about that twin…"

"What? You expect us to believe that?" Jou exclaimed in surprise.

"But it _is_ the truth. I… have a twin brother who stole that relic. I… I've been trying to find him, because…" he fell silent for a moment, trying to figure out how much to tell, and _how_ to tell it. "I have to find him before he makes a bad mistake, "he continued finally. "I'm not sure what he wants to do with that relic, but I know that he's heading toward a certain place where he's going to… well, I'm not sure what… it seems to be some kind of a ritual or something… Anyway, I know that it will not work. Instead of… whatever he's trying to accomplish with it, it'll end with him being kind of… sucked into that relic, and I don't know if there's any way to ever free him from there."

He stopped talking, and the three boys stood for a moment in perfect silence. "_Sucked_ into it!?" Jou exclaimed finally. "What line you're trying to feed us? That sounds more like some fairytale than something that could really happen."

Ryou looked at him in desperation. "I swear it's true! I saw… I saw it with my crystal…" he finished meekly.

Jou snorted, shaking his head. "You and your crystal," he muttered.

"Where is this place your brother is going to?" Seto asked.

"I'm not sure," Ryou whispered. "I have a vague feeling of the general direction of it, and I know that there are some mountains nearby, but… I really don't know."

Seto was silent for a while, deep in thought. "I assume that this relic is one that belongs to… Yami's mother?"

Ryou nodded sadly.

"And this mother… is the Lady, right?"

The second nod was even more miserable.

"What?" Jou stared at them with wide eyes. "The Lady? How…" he fell silent. "Shit," he whispered then.

"Indeed." Ryou's voice was quite dry. "That's why I have to find him before Yami does."

"It is not going to be easy… especially since you have to try to avoid Yami in the process. I wonder if we could be of any help in…"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Jou turned to stare at his huntbrother. "Do you mean that you believe him?"

Seto bit his lip, thinking hard as he stared into Ryou's eyes, which were begging him to believe. _Do I believe him? Or… maybe the question should be… do I believe him just because I _want_ to?_

The brown eyes were sad and tired, and he couldn't find any deceit in them. Slowly, he nodded. "Yes… I think that I do."

Jou shook his head. "You're nuts, you know."

* * *

**A/N:** ZZZzzzZZZ… 

_The Random Muse pops up from nowhere, glances at the snoring authoress…  
__"Just be a good little reader and give her a review… that'll make her happy when she wakes up."  
…and disappears again._

G'night.


	9. Chapter 9

(random) Snowing outside, snowing outside, snowing outside... ::happy dance:: (/random)

Someone's been reading Thomas Hardy… I wonder if I'm getting influences. ;) Well, not too much, anyway, otherwise this chapter would probably be just description of the scenery.

Anyway. There's one part in this that I'm planning to revise, but I guess I won't keep you waiting any longer (sorry it's taken this long!) – knowing me, this revising might take really long time. So, here you are, for now.

**Review responses:**

**Shadow-loverOB1:** Thanks. :) I try to update as soon as I can… I just have so many other things to do these days…

**Elle-Fate2x1-2:** ::g:: Yeah, Bakura is quite good in getting to trouble. But we'll see just how honest Ryou really is… ;) Thanks for the review!

**Aramis-chan:** There are many great mysteries in the world… ;) I know some really good stories that don't get many reviews, and then there are… well, things that are quite crappy, but still get bunches of reviews (okay, so they are mostly of the 'omg tha was great contnue!!!!!!!!1111one' caliber... ;) )  
Anyway, thanks for the review. It really made my day back then (yes… that was a crappy day). I think we'll meet Bakura in the next chapter – as well as someone who wasn't supposed to be in this fic, but who is forcing his way in. ::frown:: No manners at all.  
Glad to know I'm doing okay with Seto – I was a bit worried about how to keep him in character when I started to plan this.  
(Btw, your penname made me to grin. It's so… nice combination.)

Again, many thankses for **Sarasusamiga** for betaing!

* * *

**Chapter 9**

The clouds on the horizon were golden in the intense light of the setting sun. They hovered low above the sleepy meadows, which were drowning in twilight. Nothing moved except a soft breeze that traveled every now and then over the vast grasslands, making the hay swing slightly. A small road wound its way through the slightly hilly landscape, splitting it in two like a snake before disappearing into the gloom of a faraway forest.

Jou stared up at the clouds, leaning back on his golden dun horse and not really thinking about anything. The evening was peaceful and quiet; there were no sounds but the occasional whining of the wind, soft growls of the dogs, and the steady clapping of the hooves against the surface of the road. For a long time they had been riding in silence, all absorbed in their own thoughts. Absentmindedly he wondered what the others were thinking about, but in truth, he didn't really care. He was feeling strangely content, just _being_ there, sitting on his horse and looking at the clouds. It was quite odd, considering their situation and what they were doing, but… He shrugged at his thoughts. So what. He was content and left it at that.

Seto and Ryou rode beside him, and once again he observed them from the corner of his eye. It was quite funny how the two boys avoided even looking at each other. They had been traveling for three days now, and they hadn't spoken to each other unless it was unavoidable. Jou was beginning to grow impatient. He was seriously considering locking the two into some small room and not letting them out until they had talked everything through. The only thing that kept him from following through was the distinct lack of rooms with locks – or houses for that matter – in the wilderness.

It was plain ridiculous. He wasn't sure, in the first place, if it was even such a bright idea to accompany Ryou on this quest of his. He had opposed it from the beginning, but Seto had been quite insistent, and finally he had agreed to it. He would have thought that after the trouble Seto had had talking him into this he would have grasped this chance and been a little more… _straightforward_ with Ryou, but no. Jou turned again to look at his huntbrother, this time staring openly at the tall boy, who in his turn was staring intently at the bushes by the roadside. As for Ryou, he seemed very interested in the mane of his seal bay horse, almost black as the evening grew darker.

Jou shook his head. He had thought that the most difficult part of this journey would be either the beginning of it or the end: that is, convincing his uncle that their _really_ good friend was in big troubles and they _really_ had to leave to help him (and no, they couldn't exactly explain what was going on but, yes, of course they knew what they were doing) or facing gods knew what once they found this mysterious brother. Now it seemed that the journey itself would form the most exasperating part of this 'adventure', as he mockingly called it.

These thoughts were ruining his good mood. With a sigh he turned his gaze towards the forest. They were traveling slowly in gait at the moment, but the forest was already getting close. Once they reached it they would stop for the night, and in the morning they would continue on their way… to wherever it was they were going. Ryou seemed to know. At least, he was leading their way and was always sure which direction they should take. Still, he claimed that he didn't have any idea of where they were going… It made no sense whatsoever. Jou still suspected that the pale boy hadn't told them everything. As they rode on he eyed the boy warily. Sure, Ryou didn't look like any dangerous and treacherous criminal, but looks could be deceiving. He had made up his mind to keep an eye on him. Anyway, he was afraid that Seto, who was usually the more mistrusting one of them, would be a little too blind when it came to his newly found love.

That thought ruined what remained of his good mood, and it made him feel guilty.

_C'mon now… I can't still be jealous, can I?_

He closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating on his feelings and ignoring the outside world.

_Damn. I guess I can._

He knew very well that it was ridiculous, and that he didn't even have any _right_ to be jealous in the first place, but… he just couldn't help it. For years Seto had been the most important person in his life and he in Seto's – with the possible exception of Mokuba – and then some untrustworthy little freak popped out of nowhere to steal his huntbrother away, just like that. On second thought… maybe he _had_ some justification for his jealousy. He stole an angry glance at the white-haired boy who was still staring at the mane of his horse.

_I don't know what you're plotting, but I can tell you one thing… I'm really going to keep an eye on you. Make one wrong move, and you're in for it._

-

The flames of the campfire licked the dry wood, ate it hungrily and cast dancing shadows on the nearby trees. They sat around the fire, three bent figures eating their supper, each one positioned as far from the others as possible. The equilateral triangle they formed couldn't have been more perfect if the realm's best mathematicians had calculated it.

Seto munched his bread, wondering absentmindedly if they could behave more childishly if they really tried. He understood that Ryou wanted to keep his distance; after all, the pale boy hadn't been that enthusiastic about having them with him. The only reason he had agreed to it was that Seto had threatened to drag him directly to Yami if he hadn't. No, he didn't wonder why Ryou preferred sitting on his own side of the fire, deep in his own thoughts. It was he himself and his hunter who were the reason for his utter astonishment.

All right, maybe that wasn't exactly true either.

_There's really nothing surprising in Jou being childish… but that_ I _would be too…_

He shook his head angrily, placing his cup down as he finished eating. He knew that he and Jou should have a chat – yes, and he knew that he and _Ryou_ should have one too – but he wasn't in the mood for it now. He frowned at the other two boys, angry he was letting them have such an influence on his feelings. He gathered his blanket around himself and lay down, turning his back on the others.

"Good night."

"Night," the others muttered, and he heard them rustling with their own blankets before silence took over.

-

Seto stirred restlessly as a bright ray of the morning sun touched his eyes. He turned over sleepily, away from the light, and took a look over the camp. Jou was nowhere in sight, but Ryou was still sleeping on the other side of the dead fire, cuddled up and looking totally…

_No. Stop that. Don't think about it._

He got up stretching a little. _Wonder where Jou is… I hope he's not gone too far…_ Quite involuntarily his eyes drifted to Ryou again, and this time he did not turn away. _He_ is _beautiful_, he thought, vaguely aware that beautiful wasn't an adjective usually used of men, but… it was the only word he could think of to describe…

Suddenly a fragment of a dream he had had this night came to his mind and he found himself blushing wildly, turning his gaze quickly away.

_Gods… I didn't realize that my situation was_ that _bad_… _I… think I'm going to see if I can find Jou._

Hastily he left the camp and the sleeping boy behind, wondering how he would ever be able to look him in the eyes again and not think about _that_.

Finding Jou was not any difficult task; the blond hunter had not wandered far away from the camp. He was sitting on a big rock, leaning against a tree that was growing beside it, playing absentmindedly with a little stick and staring up at the tree branches. As Seto walked toward him, he glanced at his huntbrother coldly, and before the brunet boy had time to say anything, he stated flatly, "Go back to the camp."

"What?"

Jou turned to glare at him again. "Go back to the camp and _talk_ with him."

Seto blinked in confusion. "Why now?" he finally asked.

Jou rolled his eyes leaning his head back against the tree. "Because… if I have to witness a dream like _that _one more time, I'm going to do something drastic."

Seto blinked again, feeling his cheeks turn hot as realization dawned at him. He and Jou had shared dreams sometimes earlier too, but they had been quite innocent ones.

"Go back there, before I knock you over and _drag_ you there," Jou said dangerously calmly, snapping the little stick in his hand into two.

Seto nodded once, almost meekly, before turning on his heels and all but fleeing from the place.

_I can't believe this… As if it weren't bad enough to have such a dream, why did _he_ have to have it too?_ His only consolation was that he knew that Jou wouldn't remember as much of the dream as he did – and he didn't remember much to begin with. But still… He shook his head angrily as he entered the camp. _Talk about bad luck…_

In the camp Ryou had woken up and was looking wildly around. As Seto came into his sight he appeared almost… relieved? _That's strange_, Seto thought, _I'd think that he'd __be just as happy if we disappeared somewhere._

"Morning," he said to the boy, who returned his greeting quietly before beginning to fold up his blanket. Seto stared at him in silence, trying to regain his still quite shaken composure. After a while Ryou glanced at him.

"Is something wrong?" he asked hesitantly, and Seto shook quickly his head.

"No… nothing…" he bit his lip, suddenly nervous. '_Talk to him'? And what am I supposed to say?_ He took a deep breath. "Uh… I think that… we really should have a little talk…"

Ryou frowned. "I have told you everything I know, really, I…"

"No, that's not what I meant," Seto said shaking his head. "I mean that… we should talk about… us."

"Us?" Ryou looked up at him, totally bewildered, and Seto sighed inwardly. _Gods, doesn't he have a_ clue _what I'm talking about?_

"Yes." He nodded. "You know… I mean, uh… Could I ask you something?"

He waited till Ryou nodded, and continued then. "What… what do you… think about me?"

That wasn't exactly the question he had been going to ask, but it was the only one his tongue was able to form at the moment.

Ryou blinked at him, looking quite perplexed. "I… uh, I… I think… you've been very kind to me, helping me so much, and I think that…" The pale boy swallowed. Something made him blush and he turned quickly away. "I think that you're nice," he finished flatly.

"…Nice? I mean, uh…" _Nice? And why does it make you blush like that, pray tell? Just nice, is it… _He clicked his tongue angrily. "And is that all?"

Ryou glanced at him hesitantly, still quite red, and turned then back to his neatly folded blanket, refolding it a little more neatly.

Seto cleared his throat. He wasn't used to this. He hadn't really had to talk about his feelings ever before. Besides Jou and Mokuba there hadn't been anyone in his life with whom he would have wanted to talk about how he felt, and as for those two… He didn't usually talk about his deepest feelings with Mokuba, the boy was a little too small for that, and Jou… He didn't need words for telling his hunter how he felt, the other boy could feel it through their bond.

"So… what would you say if I told you that I think you're beautiful?" he asked quietly without thinking. When the other boy started and turned to look at him with wide eyes he bit his lip softly. He hadn't been planning going to say that… but there was no harm done, really. The other's startled expression made him feel a little better giving him the impression that he was the one in control of the situation.

"If I told you that you're beautiful, intelligent, _charming_…" he smirked slightly when the pale boy blushed again. "Not to mention that the way you blush is quite adorable."

Ryou quickly pressed his hands to his burning cheeks. "What are you talking about?" he muttered.

"What am I talking about…?" Seto repeated softly. "I guess I'm talking about the fact that I'm falling in love with you."

"Love?" Ryou blinked few times rapidly, like a night bird in daylight. "Oh."

"…Is that all you have to say?"

"I…" Ryou sighed, looking down. "I don't know. There has been so much going on lately…but… I guess I _am_ a little attracted to you or something…" His cheeks were flushing up again, and he looked quite annoyed about that fact.

"So you have feelings toward me…" Seto's voice was very soft as he moved a little closer to the other boy.

"I… uh…" Ryou raised his eyes from the ground and looked up at Seto, feeling himself more unsure than he ever had before.

Looking down at the brown, confused eyes Seto felt himself melting instantly. "I'm sorry," he said. "We don't have to talk about this now if you don't want to. We can talk more after this all is over…"

Ryou nodded, his relief showing from his face. "I think I'd really like to have some time to think about this, especially now that I… I know… how you feel." He dropped his gaze to the ground and fingered his blanket uncertainly, almost starting to refold it again.

Seto looked at him thoughtfully. _This little discussion hasn't gone that badly after all_. He couldn't help but feel vaguely surprised that there was even a chance that Ryou would return his feelings. The idea made him a little light-headed. As he watched Ryou packing away his blanket he wondered if he was dreaming again.

"Aren't you guys finished yet?" Jou's voice came from the forest interrupting his thoughts. The blond boy came into view from behind the trees, looking at them questioningly.

Seto nodded. "Yes… I guess we are, for the most part."

"So, what's the result? Are you a couple now?"

"Not exactly…"

"Oh? Does that mean I still have to suffer from your dreams?" Seto glanced angrily at the hunter, just in time to catch a little smirk on his lips.

"You keep quiet about that…"

"_You_ keep your dreams to yourself…"

-

Ryou looked at them, feeling more confused than he had for a long time – and that was saying a lot. He was just about to ask what they were talking about, when the sound of hooves clapping against the ground reached their ears. They all turned to look and saw a hooded figure riding a dapple-gray horse approaching them slowly.

Seto and Jou stepped a little forward, eyeing the quiet figure warily. The rider brought the horse to a stop only a few feet away from them. Raising her hand she pushed her hood away, revealing long black hair, streaked with few grayish brands. She was middle-aged, probably in her late forties, and there was something cold in her eyes.

"Good that you're awake," she said, and her voice made Ryou start. There was something strangely familiar in it. "You'd better get ready, we have a long way to travel today."

Seto frowned. "I'm sorry, milady, but I don't quite understand what you mean. First of all… why would we take orders from a complete stranger?"

The woman smiled slightly. "Ah, but I'm not a _complete_ stranger, am I, Ryou?"

"What?" Ryou started again, staring at the woman with wide eyes. "Evayne…?"

Both Seto and Jou turned to look at the white haired boy whose jaw was about to drop to the ground.

"You know her?" Seto asked, and Ryou nodded slowly.

"I… I think so," he said. "But… what's happened?! You… you look as if you were twenty years older than you were a week ago…"

"Twenty one years, I think, if I remember correctly when we met the first time… it really was some time ago. Don't let that bother you… think about it as my… curse, if you wish." She smiled oddly. "You were right when we spoke last time, Ryou. It was no accident that we met. But I see that you have not told your friends about me…" She glanced at Seto and Jou who were staring at her with growing confusion. "My name is Evayne a'Nolan. I am here to help you to find this artifact you are chasing. And it is important that we find it; there are other powers interested in it too, and it would be extremely dangerous if it ended up in their hands."

"Other powers? What powers?" Seto asked, trying to overcome his confusion.

"The kin," Evayne replied quietly, and the three boys shivered slightly.

The kin. The demon kin, to be more precise. Jou took a furtive glance at Ryou, wondering if it was too late to change his mind and return home.

_'Yes, it is. If the Allasakari are involved in this, we can't just walk away.'_

Jou shrugged angrily. Sometimes he just hated it when his huntbrother was right.

"And what do the kin want with this… artifact?" Seto asked, watching the elder woman suspiciously.

She smiled a little. "I do not claim to know the plans of the kin – although I wish I did. Still… the artifact in question is powerful, more powerful than you probably realize. It does belong to the Goddess of Death, after all."

Seto frowned a little and opened his mouth to question her further but Ryou cut him off.

"I… I just don't understand," he all but cried out. Taking a deep breath he continued more calmly. "When we talked last time you didn't seem to be very enthusiastic about helping me – actually I was pretty sure I'd never see you again. And now you appear like this out of nowhere… why?"

Evayne smiled at him oddly, with a little touch of sadness. "When we talked, I was young and confused – and scared too, I admit. And I didn't believe that your problems had anything to do with my… mission, so to say… and that was all I was interested about then."

"And now you've found out that there is a connection, haven't you?" Ryou asked quietly. "Would you be here if you hadn't?"

Evayne looked at him with an unreadable expression. "I do not decide where I go to, and when," she said softly.

Jou snorted. "You don't? And who does, pray tell?" Suddenly his eyes widened. "Now… don't tell me you're one of those crystal-freaks too…"

Seto shot a sharp glance at him as Evayne blinked in confusion.

"Seer," Seto said. "He means to ask if you're a seer."

"Oh." Evayne laughed a little, surprising them. For some reason she didn't appear to be a woman who laughed often. "Yes, I _am_ a seer, but that is not what I meant. But that's enough talking… We have to be on our way now."

Seto looked at Ryou questioningly. "You're the only one here who knows anything at all about her," he said quietly. "What do you want to do?"

Ryou looked alternately at Seto and Evayne, troubled. "I…" He was silent for a while. "I think we can trust her. We'll go with her," he decided finally. "Or… at least _I'll_ go with her," he added hastily, not wanting to order anyone around. "You can do what you want, of course."

"We'll come with you," Seto said, nodding. "Let's get ready."

With that he walked to his horse and began to saddle the blue roan. Jou eyed him sullenly as he followed his example. _'Come with you', sure we will. It's so_ nice _when you ask my opinion too._ He threw the saddle on his horse's back and the animal made a sudden move, surprised by the rough treatment.

"Hush, boy," he muttered as he put the bridle on. "Sorry about that. It's just that my huntbrother is sometimes such a goddamned jerk, y'know…" The horse snorted, impatient to get on the move, and Jou took it as a sign of agreement. "Yeah, that's right. Smart boy, aren't you…"

"Jou! Are you coming?"

He glanced at others who were already on horseback and waiting for him.

"Sure," he muttered, as he mounted his horse.

The foursome set out on their way, Evayne taking the lead and Jou staying at the tail.

_One more stranger for me to keep an eye on…_ He shook his head angrily. _And the only one who_ thinks _he can trust her is someone _I_ definitely don't trust. Just great._

-

"We will take a shortcut," Evayne said, as they rode briskly on.

Seto glanced at her sharply. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing dangerous," Evayne waved her hand dismissingly. "Not this time of year."

Jou and Ryou stared at her in confusion, while understanding began to dawn in Seto's eyes.

"Do you mean…"

"The Summer road." Evayne nodded. "It's not dangerous, as I said, and we're really in a hurry."

"And when will we enter it?"

Evayne raised her head a little, looking up at the sky as if deep in thought. Just when Seto was going to repeat his question, she answered him.

"Soon. Once we're at the right place at the right time."

They kept on riding until midday. Then they finally stopped to eat something, for which Jou's stomach was eternally grateful.

Evayne quickly finished her meal and left to examine the nearby surroundings. _Young people these days are a little too distrustful for their own good_, she thought amusedly as she felt three pairs of suspicious eyes in her back. Taking a look around she nodded. This place was perfect.

"If you're ready, get up. We have to be on our way," she shouted to them. The boys got up from the ground, gathered their things and walked to Evayne who was quietly muttering something.

"Are you sure this is wise?" Jou whispered to Seto, eyeing the woman, who was quickly turning quite witchlike in his eyes.

Seto shrugged. "It shouldn't be dangerous, as she said. Although I'm wondering exactly who – or what – she really is… No ordinary seer would have the powers that are needed to open this road. Anyway, I don't think we have many choices… you'd better call your dogs here."

Ryou watched them silently as Jou called for his pack, keeping his thoughts to himself. He was a little worried about this – nothing concerning the old rites was totally safe. Still, this gave him a chance to reach his brother soon, and the thought of demons had unnerved him more than he cared to admit.

Suddenly Evayne stepped back and started to speak out loud.

"We have come, free of coercion, to the hidden road, to walk it in Summer. I am Evayne a'_Neaamis_; I have walked the Oracle's road, I have seen the Oracle's vision, I have made the Choice. The hidden path cannot be denied me. You ask for power and I speak with its voice. I bid thee: Open!"

And suddenly the world twisted in their eyes.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay… Evayne's spell in the end is an adaptation of her spell in _Hunter's Death_ (on page 37 to be exact.) And I say right away that I'm going to take quite great liberties with the Summer road. It has been so long since I read the books that I don't exactly remember what was told about it there… I reread that part of _Hunter's Death_ where they traveled the road in Winter, but… well, I'm not really sure about how things work when it's summer. ::sweat drop:: 

Moving on to the horses… I just thought, in the case there's someone out there who's interested and who doesn't know such colors as 'golden dun' or 'blue roan' (I saw a horse of this color some time ago, boy wasn't it beautiful, had to give it to Seto… ::g::), here are some pics where you can see the colors: here for Jou's horse (which is dark metallic golden dun to be exact) ht m (fourth pic from the bottom, just take the spaces away). To see Seto's horse, change 'dun' to 'roan' in the URL (the first pic is quite close to the color of the horse I saw, except that it was prettier), Ryou's: change it to 'bay' (the horse at the bottom of the page), and Evayne's: 'grey' (the first pic is closest to what I had in my mind).

Hmm… some of these colors are quite unusual… does that make my horses Mary-Sues? ::sweat drop:: (Or Mare-y Sues, as Sara said… ::g::)

(Yeah… can't you just tell that I like horses?)

Hey, before I forget…! I started a YGO horror community some time ago, and since it _still_ isn't appearing in the list of all YGO C2's doesn't seem to like me…) I thought to do some advertising. So, if you're interested in good horror fics, go take a look. :) (And look at the end of my bio for a list of R-rated horror recommendations.)


	10. Chapter 10

Wah. This chappy was plain _difficult_. I don't how it _could_ be that difficult to write… but here it is, finally. X.x

.:grin:. We're going to introduce a couple of new characters, both from the show and the books. (Even though the show one wasn't supposed to be in this fic… he just forced his way in. Bad boy.)

**Thanks to the reviewers!** I hope you haven't grown tired of waiting yet…

**Elle-Fatex: **Thanks a lot! I hope you'll like this chapter too.

**DawnShadows-lover:** Thanks for the review! And I'm sorry I took so long…

**Aramis-chan: **Heh, don't worry. I'm quite a lazy reviewer myself at times… .:sweatdrop:. Anyway, here the next chapter finally comes to satisfy your curiosity… sorry for the long wait.

**Evergladelord: **Glad that you like this. Very many thankses for adding me to your favs! And once again, I'm sorry for taking so long with this…

And as usual, _very_ many thanks to **Sarasusamiga** for betaing!

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Seto blinked as he looked around. A moment ago they had been standing ina small meadow in the middle of a forest, and now… well, they were still in a forest, but this forest was quite unlike any he had seen before.

He blinked again as he stared at the tree trunk that had suddenly appeared right in front of him. It was huge; he hadn't believed trees that big could even exist. Its bark was brownish and rough, the picture of old age with all its dignity and none of the decay that comes with time. He raised his eyes to look above into the softly rustling foliage. Every leaf seemed to be a workof art, reflecting the light… He took a step forward, to touch the tree's bark, to see what was behind it, when he heard Evayne's voice.

"Keep to the path."

He stopped and glanced behind. Evayne and Ryou had mounted their horses and wereboth looking quite grave. Ryou stared, once again, at the mane of his horse, while Evayne was watching him and his hunter, who…

"Hey Jou, stop!" Quickly, he grasped his hunter's hand before the blond boy wandered into the forest.

"Huh?" Jou looked at him blinking slowly. "Quite a forest…"

"Indeed." Seto pushed him toward his horse, trying to keep his own eyes away from the magnificent trees. Somehow he had a feeling that it would be really easy to get lost in this place.

Once they were all mounted they set off again, Evayne taking the lead and Ryou following right after her. Seto and Jou kept a little farther back, careful not todrop too far behind. The dogs trotted beside them.

"This… is what I call a weird place," Jou whispered after a moment's silence. "I mean… what _is_ this place, after all?"

Seto frowned, trying to remember. "I know something about this, but not much… The Winter Road is mentioned brieflyin one of those books you treated so… disrespectfully when we were kids. There were some stories in it, telling about ancient times when the Gods lived in our world… they had children who did not leave the world when the Gods did. I guess this place belongs to one of those children, to one of the Firstborn."

"You know much, huntbrother," Evayne said quietly as he fell silent.

Seto shrugged. "Not enough. I do not know, for example, what kind of dangers we might meet here whileit's still Summer."

He spurred his horse onward so that he was riding almost next to Evayne while Jou remained behind them, eyeing the threesome suspiciously.

It was Evayne's turn to shrug. "The Road is never completely safe, but we're lucky not to travel here in Winter." That was all she said, and Seto asked no more, realizing that he wouldn't get any answers.

The silence took over again. The only noises were the quiet rustling of the leaves, the hooves'soft clapping, and the panting of the dogs, all merging intoa comforting, peaceful sound, hardly separable from the silence. The sound was, in fact,a little _too_ peaceful, too lulling; it made Seto alert. As he glanced at his hunter, he was glad to see that Jou too appeared well aware of this threatening comfort.

Suddenly Ryou raised his head with a little frown on his face.

"What was that?"

"What?" Seto's eyes jumped quickly from Jou to the white-haired boy.

Ryou's frown deepened. "I thought I heard… There it was again!" He glanced nervously at the others. "Didn't you hear anything?"

Seto shook his head as Evayne leaned towards Ryou. "What did you hear?" she asked.

"I… It sounded like a horn," Ryou answered glancing again over his shoulder. "Did you really not hear it?"

"How close was it?" Evayne asked before the others could reply.

"I'm not sure… not very close, I think…"

Evayne nodded. "Come on," she said, spurring her horse to agallop. "I'd rather not meetthe Hunter and his Queen, no matter what season it is."

"Hunter?" Jou wondered aloud as his horse leaped forward, tossinghis black mane.

"Hardly ours," Seto muttered to him.

They galloped onward, hooves kickingclods into the air, the dogs doing their best to keep up with them.

"What is it?" Jou asked after a while. "Exactly what are we running from?"

"The rulers of this place," Evayne answered. "They are tricky to deal with, and I'd rather not meet them now, be that impolite or not."

_That says a lot…_ Jou thought wryly as he spurred his horse on. _Just what does she mean with 'tricky'…_

"There's the horn again," Ryou said suddenly, glancing over his shoulder. "And dogs too."

"Near?" Evayne asked, and Ryou shrugged.

"Getting closer, I think."

She cursed quietly under her breath. "If they are on our track we don't have much chance of avoidingthem."

"Is there any point in trying to?" Ryou asked softly.

Evayne sighed, and for a moment she looked older than before. "No," she said after a while, bringing her horse to halt, "I guess there's not. We might as well wait for them here."

The three boys stopped as well.

Soon the barking of the hounds was audible to the others too, as well as what sounded like the pounding of hooves. Jou whispered calmingly to his dogs and ordered them to lie down. They obeyed him, but reluctantly, and a fewbared white teeth.

"Keep good control of them," Evayne whispered to him, and he nodded briskly.

Just then the first hounds came into view, and he had to fight to keep his own dogs quiet. His control almost slipped as he saw the hounds – he wasn't even sure if that was the right word to use. They were twice the size of his dogs, thickly furred, with white eyes gleaming somewhere underneath the fur. Still, as the owner of the hounds rode into view, the hounds were soon forgotten.

Something big moved behind the trees, something vaguely horse-like, but definitely not a horse. It looked most like a hybrid of a horse and a stag, with sharp antlers and shining coat, but – Jou realized with a start – it had a woman's face. Soon, though, his attention was drawn away from this creature to the woman who was sitting on its back. Tall and slender, with long, fair hair that reflected the sun's rays, and soft green eyes like the leaves of a young birch… For one crazy moment Jou thought he had fallen in love, but then someone knocked him hard onthe back of his head.

"Ouch!" He threw an angry glance at Seto who was watching him with exasperation.

_'Try to keep control of_ yourself _as well,'_ he heard his brother's irritated voice, and nodded, feeling a slight blush covering his cheeks.

"So…" The quiet voice made him start a little, and he turned back to the newcomers to find the Queen of the Summer Road watching him with an amused – and quite knowing – smile. "We so seldom get visitors here… surely you are not leaving before you have hunted with us?"

Jou, still quite enthralled, was about to answer that he would be delighted to hunt with this beautiful lady, but Evayne cut him off.

"Surely you know, milady, that we have come here in a great hurry, and that it is important for us to continue our way as soon as possible."

The Queen smiled a bright, sunny smile. "Oh, but _you_ do know the rules, my friend, don't you?"

When Evayne frowned she gave a small laugh that was like a skylark**'**s trill. Jou felt a smile tugging the corner of his mouth too, but just then something moved again in the shadows of the trees. The smile died quickly on his lips as he watched a huge manlike creature that had no clothing and a body massive as a tree trunk step out of the forest and stop beside the woman. He might have been mistaken for a giant man if it were not the fact that he,too, was antlered and his feet were cloven. Behind him came a group of young men, fair-headed as the Queen.

Jou looked away with a gulp. _If that's my rival, I think I give up._

There was a sigh in the back of his mind. _'You are an idiot,' _a dry voice commented.

"We have no time for these games, Ariane," Evayne was saying quietly. "But I do know the rules."

The Queen looked triumphant and was about to say something with, but Evayne cut her off.

"It is part of therules that while,in the Winter, one of the travelersmust be the quarry, in the Summer _one_ of the travelersmust hunt. And I will be the one." She glanced at the boys who stared at her in confusion. "Just stay on the path and walk to its end, and you will get out of here. I will meet with you later…" _…hopefully_, she finished the sentence in her mind.

She gave a look at the Queen who suddenly appeared much sourer and not as beauteous as earlier. "And you will let them go," she said sternly. "Anyway, it is in the rules you prize so highly."

"Indeed." The Queen's voice was a little sullen, but it hadn't lost any of its charm. She gave a small sigh. "If that is what you wish. After all, it isn't a bad deal for us."

The sigh turned into a small smile, and the light returned to her eyes.

"Let us hunt, then!"

And before Jou had time to blink, the weird company disappeared into the woods, taking Evayne with them. He stared after them for a while before shaking his head as if to clear it. "That… was weird."

"We'd better be going now," Ryou stated quietly.

Seto nodded in agreement and spurred his horse onward. "The less time we spend here, the better."

The threesome galloped forward on the grass-grown path. The forest enveloped them as it had done before, but it no longer seemedinterested in. Though the ancient trees were as magnificent as always, they didn't feel as enchanting as before.

"There!"

Ryou's sudden shout made Jou pullhis eyes away from the trees. In front of them was a white tear in the air, shining with soft light. Ryou and Seto headed right towards it. Ignoring the queasy feeling in his stomach, Jou followed them.

For a moment everything flashed brightly. When things returned to normal, he saw that they were standing at the edge of a grassy, slightly hilly plain, facing high, rocky mountains.

They spent a moment in silence, staring at their surroundings. Then Ryou took a hesitant glance over his shoulder, as if expecting to still see the Summer Road behind them.

"I wonder how she's doing…"

"Oh, she'll be fine, I'm sure of that," Seto said a little dryly. "I'm more interested in where the hell we are now."

"You mean you don't know?" A little startled, Jou looked at him, and he snorted.

"How _could_ I know? What about you?"

"Well…" Ryou shifted nervously. "Those mountains look like the ones I saw in my vision, but I don't have a clue where they are located."

Seto sighed. "Great. So, let's see…" he muttered, trying to picture the maps he had studied. "We were heading South when we left… and the Tiagra Chain is in that direction. Maybe…"

A loud explosion in the mountains cut him off, making their horses dance afew frightened steps.

"Wow! What the hell was that?" Jou stared at the mountains with wide eyes, trying to keep both his horse and his dogs in control.

"I don't…" Seto started to say, but he was cut off when Ryou spurred his horse into full gallop.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

Ryou gave no answer, and with a quiet curse Seto rode after him. Jou hesitated for a moment, thenfollowed them with a shrug.

_'You know, Seto… when I see exploding mountains, the first thing in my mind _isn't_ to rush to explore them immediately. Especially after I've been told that there might be demons nearby…' _

_'Are you trying to be funny or something? Now that we've come this far, we might as well follow him to the end.'_

Jou blinked. _'Follow him to the end? You're being melodramatic today, aren't you… anyway, wouldn't it be wiser….'_

_'Yes, it would,'_ Seto cut him off and grasped Ryou's reins forcing his horse to slow down.

"I don't know what you think you're doing but…" he started to yell at the white-haired boy, but he was cut off when Ryou slapped at him angrily with the end of his reins.

"Let go! I have to go there! My brother's there!"

"Stop that, idiot!" With a sudden move Seto pulled Ryou's horse closer, giving the other boy an angry glare. "You can't go rushing inlike that! We don't know what is going on there…"

"Let go, I said!" Ryou hit his heels into the sides of his horse, making herrear up. Seto, who had still been grasping the reins, almost lost his balance and had to let go. "I will not lose him too!" Ryou shot over his shoulder as his mount surged forward.

Seto blinked as he looked at the rapidly growing distance between them and Ryou. Then he glanced at Jou. "Send one of your dogs after him. We'll follow after."

Jou frowned a little, but nodded. _'Feron, follow him.'_ In an instant the dog was running after Ryou who had already disappeared fromview.

"How much do you think he's not told us?" Jou muttered, as they started to follow the dog.

"Who knows," Seto muttered back.Jou noted he didn't try to deny the possibility that Ryou hadn't been completely honest with them.

-

The mountains were near, and it didn't take Ryou long to reach them. He stopped for a moment once he was in the cover ofthe rocks. Everything was silent; no other sounds had followed the explosion. It made him a little worried, but he was still quite confident that he wasn't too late. Quietly he dismounted and started to walk upwards the narrow path he had known he'd find there. He kept his hold of the reins and his horse followed him, shaking her black mane nervously.

As he walked on he realized why the silence worried him. Everything was _too_ silent. There were no sounds of animals or birds** – **even the wind was quiet. His horse snorted, a startlingly loud sound in the breathless hush, and he patted her necksoothingly. Still, the horse onlygot more tense as they continued their way. Every now and then white flashed in her rolling eyes. Trying to calm her down he kept going, unaware of two pairs of eyes that were following him closely.

-

"A new player to this game."

"Indeed. And one that might prove useful to us…."

"Really? I would see him rather as a nuisance. _He_ would hardly care…"

"Oh, he cares much more than you'd believe. You go after him, I will take care of this one." White teeth flashed in the shadows.

"You are not the one who gives orders here. But as you wish… if you have plans for the boy, go ahead."

-

Ryou had just gotten off his horse. He caressed her head softly, whispering soft comforting words. The horse's tensionwas beginning to make _him_ nervous, and he was starting to wonder if he should have stayed with Seto and Jou. Maybe they…

With a sharp breath he let go ofthe horse and threw himself down, rolling down from the small path and starting to run as soon as he hit the ground, before even realizing what was going on. The horse bolted and flew from the place as fast as she could.

A cloaked figure stepped forward from behind the cliffs with an annoyed sigh. "Damn those seers and their instincts," he muttered, thenshrugged. "As if it matters." he disappeared into the air.

Ryou ran on as fast as he could – which wasn't that fast since he had left the path. He wasn't sure why he was running, but had long ago learned to trust his instincts.

This time, though, the instincts weren't enough. Out of thin air appeared a cloaked manlike figure, pale bangs sticking out from beneath its hood and quite mad reddish eyes gleaming softly on the shadowed face. "Hello there," the figure purred, andraised its hand. Before Ryou could react he was already falling into unconsciousness.

-

At the foot of the mountain, Jou suddenly pulled his horse to a stop.

"What now?" Seto stared at his huntbrother with an annoyed look. The blond boy just stared blankly forward. "Jou, _what_ is going on? C'mon, talk to me!" He gave the boy a shove and Jou yelped in surprise.

"Hey, take it easy! I… I don't know what's going on. Some… thing just got Ryou."

Seto frowned. "What do you mean, some _thing_?"

"Well, it looked like a man, but it appeared out of nowhere, and disappeared again taking him with."

"That's all you know?"

"Yes, that's all I know!" Trying to calm down, Jou took a long breath. "That's all that Feron knows. And he's quite freaked out… he didn't like the smell of that... thing."

"Great," Seto muttered, eyeing the mountains angrily as if it wereall their fault. "We'd better hurry."

He spurred his horse on, and Jou followed him, starting to wonder if they'd ever get back home again.

* * *

There. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can, but I guess I won't make any promises… (I'll try to be faster than with this chapter, though…) Meanwhile, feel free to push the button. .:wink:.


	11. Chapter 11

Umm… yes. Once again, I am sorry for the long wait. Not to mention surprised… has it really been almost 5 months already? O.o

Anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope you guys still remember how the previous chapter ended… (in the mountain, there were a couple of… umm, creatures, and another of them kidnapped Ryou. Remember…?)

Anyway, this chapter introduces a couple of new characters (Yuugi and Bakura, that is. No, it wasn't him in the previous chapter. Sor is from the books, btw.)

Without any further ado, let's get on with the chapter.

Oh yes. Warm thanks to all reviewers! (I don't have time to write responses right now, but I'm sure you know even without saying that all reviews are very much appreciated.)

And an even warmer thank you to Sarasusamiga for betaing.

**

* * *

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**Chapter 11**

Up in the mountains was a small valley, hidden by sharp cliffs. There was a small lake – a pond, rather – in the valley, its clear water reflecting the night sky. Unlike the rest of the mountains, this place had quite rich flora – small trees with bended trunks, flowering bushes sprinkled here and there, thick grass mattingthe ground. All in all, it was a beautiful place, a small paradise made even more wonderful by its rough surroundings.

The young man crouching behind a big rock did not have time to admire the valley's beauty – actually, it is questionable whether he would have in any case been interested. Right now, his eyes were fixed on a woman standing by the lake.

She stepped forward with a small smile playing on her lips. "You may be powerful, but not powerful enough to face me. Haven't you yet understood that?" She took another step, staring at the quiet figure half-hidden by the rock. "At the very least I'd imagine that you'd choose better hiding places…"

She raised her hand and with a swift move threw a fiery ball towards the rock. It exploded into pieces, and cursing mentally the boy behind it muttered afew words raisinga quick shield to shelter himself from the flying pieces.

As the dust settled he straightened slowly, still quiet.

The woman smiled again, and stretched out her hand. "Now, be a good boy and give me the Ring. Then I might let you go your way…"

The boy gave a short laugh. "You really think I believe that? You want it, come and get it." He fell silent again, not wanting to waste any more energy onspeaking. This cat-and-mouse game had taken quite a long time, and he was exhausted.

The woman's response was cut off as her companion suddenly appeared, carrying a limp form on his shoulder.

"Hello, Sor." The newcomer grinned at her. "Look what I caught." He let Ryou fallto the ground.

The woman snorted. "I am sure that that was a very difficult catch," she stated with heavy sarcasm. "We don't need it in the first place. I could take the Ring from him on my own – together it's like stealing a candy from a child."

The other grinned even more widely. "You are so boring sometimes, my dear… Of course we could just take it from him – but where's the fun in that? Why not play some games first?"

"You and your games," she muttered a little exasperatedly. "Why can't I ever get a _sane_ partner on my missions… look out!"

The warning came a little too late. The boy had gathered his powers intoa spell that lifted the ground and sent the two demons sprawling on the ground.

They got to back to their feet in a moment, but that moment had been enough. There was no sign of either of their victims in the valley.

-

"_What_ do you think you're doing?"

"Huh?" Ryou blinked at the harsh, quiet voice that was shaking him fervently. _No,_ he thought, _voices don't shake people. There has to be someone…_ Forcing his lidsopen he found himself staring at quite familiar, reddish, furious eyes.

"Huh?" he said again. "What are you doing here?"

The other gave an exasperated sigh. "That's what I'm asking you! And don't talk that loudly… What the hell _are_ you doing here!"

Ryou sat up. "Where are…" he started to ask, but fell silent in the middle of the sentence as he suddenly remembered. The chase of his brother, Seto, Jou and his dogs, Evayne, the Summer Road… and the demons. He took a sharp breath and grasped his brother's arm.

"You have to be careful! There are demons here!"

"You're kidding," Bakura stated flatly, shaking him off. "Demons? What a surprise." He stood up with an annoyed grunt.

"Oh well. Now that you are here, you could be of use. I…"

"Wait," Ryou said quietly, finally starting to get his thoughts into order. "You… I know what you're going to do and…" he paused, hesitating, and his brother frowned at him.

"Yes? What words of wisdom will the…"

"Oh, stop that," Ryou snapped irritably, and Bakura raised his eyebrow. "You must not do it."

The eyebrow rose even higher. "Why not, pray tell?"

Ryou sighed. "Because… I have seen… no good will come of it. You will just end up trapped into that… thing." He glanced at the Ring that was hanging on Bakura's neck.

Bakura eyed him in silence for a moment. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew that when it came to his gift his brother was good. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes! Everything fits the vision I had… this place is just like what I saw. I think…" he shot a careful look towards his brother, "maybe it'd be best if you gave it to me, so I could…"

Bakura barked a short laugh. "Nice try. But I will…"

"Give it to _me_, of course," a new voice cut in.

Bakura jumped to his feet and Ryou gave a sudden breath in shock as he looked up.Yami stoodon a rock near them.

"How the hell did _you_ find me?" Bakura snarled. Yami shrugged slightly.

"Followed your brother," he answered and continued, cutting offBakura's curses, "it wasn't as easy as you might think."

He stepped down from the rock and approached the brothers who were eyeing him warily. "Handing back that item is the best you can do in this situation. You can't be fighting both me and the…"

"Shut up," Bakura muttered. "If you think I've gone through all this trouble just for nothing, you're quite mistaken." He stretched his fingers a little, preparing a spell in his mind.

"I was simply offering you an easy way out of this," Yami answered calmly, "but apparently you're too stubborn to take it." The pyramid-shaped object on his chest gleamed brightly and he opened his mouth at the same time as Bakura started to voice his spell.

After that, things happened too fast for Ryou to keep track. Later, he remembered shouting a warning though he didn't yet know why, but it was too late: at that very moment two bolts of black lightningstruck from the hills. OnehitBakura in the chest, the other found its way to Yami's head, and they both fell down without a word. Witha sudden feeling of sheer disbelief, Ryou foundhe had grasped the Ring before his brother's body hit the ground, and was now running down the hill as fast as he could.

He heard an angry snarl behind him, and knew without looking that the mad-eyed male demon was about to send a similar bolt after him. To his surprise the lightning never came; instead he heard the growl of a big dog, and fervent curses. Risking a glance over his shoulder he saw the male demon throwing a yelping dog away from himself.

"You catch him," he heard the woman's amused voice behind the dog's yelps. "Anyway, he was your prey to begin with. I will take care of these two."

-

"Damn," Jou muttered quietly as he ran up the hill together with his dogs.

"What?" Seto asked behind him.

"Feron's hurt," he answered, a bit out of breath. "And the demons are there and that Yami-guy and Ryou's brother too… it's quite a mess, really."

"Are they far?"

Jou stopped for a moment and closed his eyes in concentration. "No… not that far. But there's still a lot of climbing left."

"Let's go then."

-

On the now-quiet battlefield, Sor na Shannen was eyeing the fallen combatants with satisfaction. It would be an easy task for her companion to catch that boy, and after that they would have the Ring, the Puzzle, _and_ the son of the Goddess of Death. A good day's work, one could say. The mage didn't interest her that much, but who knows, maybe they'd find ause for him too.

She took a step towards Death's son, so happy about being finally done with this mission that she didn't notice how the boy's eyelids stirred a little.

Since the word that the Millennium Puzzle, one of the greatest treasures of the Goddess of Death, had been stolen had reached the Shining Court where the God of Darkness lodged, she and many of her kind had been walking long in the mortal lands searching for the thief. Sor na Shannen had ambition, and she had immediately recognized this mission as a way to satisfy it. She knew that things were beginning to stir at the court, that their God was forging new plans… and this was the perfect time to make a name for yourself and rise in position.

The only thing she wished was that she would have gotten someone else as her companion. In her opinion, Malik was quite mad. She had never liked him that much – he was too chaotic, too unpredictable, and she had a feeling that he wasn't that interested in serving their Master, only in indulging his own whims. Wondering what would be the best way to get rid of him she bent down over the fallen body and stretched her hand to take the Puzzle, but at that moment a bright beam of light shot out of it. With a yelp of pain she clappedher hands overblinded eyes. By the time she recovered, her victim was far away.

-

The boy with tri-colored hair was running downhillas fast as he could. There was a throbbing pain in his head and in his arm which he had hit as he fell. He took a look over his shoulder but did not see the female demon. He knew that the Light would hold her back for a moment, but he wasn't sure how long that moment would be. And once she gotover it, he was afraid that it would be very easy for her to find him.

He was just about to run past a big cliff, but stopped short and stumbled back into its cover. A little ahead, he saw oneof the white-haired boys, backed upagainst the mountain wall, facing the male demon. To his amazementhe saw that the boy was holding the Ring in front of him with bothhands, and that it was shining softly. The demon before him appeared to be quite wary.

_How could that boy be able to use the Ring? There are so few who have that gift…_

The demon was muttering some words, so quietly that he couldn't hear them. The white-haired boy raised the Ring higher, looking quite scared and a little confused. With a start the watcher noticed that a dagger had materializedin the demon's hand.

"Look out!" he started to shout, but the demon had already thrown the dagger.

At the same time as it hit the boy's shoulder he grasped his Puzzle. Onceagain a beam of light illuminatedeverything around them. As the demon shrieked in pain, trying to shieldhis eyes, he ran quickly to the boy who had fallen on his knees, grasped the Ring and started to drag him away.

"C'mon, start moving! We don't have much time…" He kept on glancing nervously behind themat the demon as they ran – or rather, stumbled – away. He knew that the Light was a very potent weapon against the kin, but not lethal, unfortunately. And since there wasn't much else he could do…

The white-haired boy fell again tohis knees and he tried to drag him up again. "Just a little further, we…" He glanced at the boy and winced a little at the sight of blood on his shoulder. "Damn…"

He looked around frantically, noticed a small crack in the mountainside, and started to help the other boy into its cover. There was just enough room in the small cave for them, and they both collapsed, quite exhausted, leaning against the stone walls.

The boy eyed the opening warily – it was a little wider than he would have liked. Then he placed his hands on his Puzzle and muttered a quiet prayer to his mother. The familiar warm sensation made him smile, and he relaxed a little.

"Now we're safe, at least for a moment. If we just keep quiet they won't find us easily," he said with a smile, turning to his companion. _Hopefully not before he's woken up again,_ he added in his thoughts. "I asked…" he cut the sentence short in shock when he saw the way Ryou was slumped against the cave's wall.

"Let me take a look at that wound," he muttered and removed the bloody clothing that covered Ryou's shoulder.

The cut wasn't deep, and it wasn't bleeding that much, but as he looked at the pale face of the other boy, he knew with a sudden certainty that the boy would die soon. Even though the wound didn't seem to be that bad, it was made by demon's blade – and even a scratch of that might be fatal. For a moment he hesitated, cursing the fact that there was nothing else he could do, thenplaced his hands on Ryou's shoulders and closed his eyes.

Ryou had been staring blankly at the opposite wall, as he every now and then bit his lip trying to ignore the pain in hisshoulder. His mind felt very cloudy and it was hard to even remember where he was, let alone figure out what was going on. The opposite wall grew blurrier, and he felt incredibly sleepy. Closing his eyes, he let go of thinking – it was getting too tiring. Now everything was dark around him, like a thick, black blanket. He leaned deeper into it** – **so soft and comfortable…

A sudden sensation, like a soft tingling in the back of his mind, snapped him out of it, back to some kind of consciousness. He could hear something, or someone, calling him, and suddenly he realized that he was sliding through the darkness toward the caller. The call held a promise of life, and he clung to it, desperately. It grew stronger, and suddenly, almost without noticing, he fell into the presence of someone else, and strange sensations and memories flooded his mind.

-

A little later Ryou woke up again. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his mind. Right now it almost felt too difficult to remember who he was. A familiar face, surrounded by black, red and yellow locks was smiling down at him, relieved.

For a moment they stared at each other, both boys feeling this weird new connection between them, connection, recognition… longing.

Ryou blinked slowly. "What did you just do?" he whispered, pressing his fingertips lightly against his forehead, as if he had a headache.

The other blinked back at him, and the same pain that he was feeling flicked in his eyes. "I…"

He cut off his sentence quickly as quiet voices entered their little cave.

"…did you stop?"

"The tracks end here. I… I don't understand…"

There was a moment's silence. "It's as if he had disappeared into thin air…" the same voice continued, and Ryou blinked again. There was something familiar aboutit.

"Who knows, maybe he did," the other voice said darkly. "If those demons caught him again… Can't your dogs find _anything_?" The voice sounded a bit grumpy.

Demons? Dogs? Suddenly the fog cleared, and he jumped tohis feet, hitting his head on the low ceiling in the process. "Se… ow…!"

"What was that?"

"I think…"

Rubbing his head Ryou peeked out through the opening. "Seto? Is that you?"

"Hey, he's there!"

"Right under your nose! What's _wrong_ with those dogs of yours?"

The dogs in question were gathering around Ryou as he stumbled out of the small cave, some of them barking in excitement.

"Nothing's wrong with them!" Jou was standing on a small rock, glaring suspiciously at the mouth of the cave. "There has to be something weird with that cave…"

Seto wasn't listening to him. "Are you all right?" he asked, hurrying to Ryou.

"Somewhat," Ryou muttered, still rubbing his head. "Though I don't understand anything of what's going on anymore…" He glanced hesitantly behind into the cave, wondering if he should say anything about the other boy. "I…"

"Yes?" Seto followed his gaze with a frown. "Is there…" He fell silent as tri-colored hair and purple eyes flashed in the opening. "What are _you_ doing here?" he asked, suddenly completely stiff, and placed a protective hand on Ryou's shoulder, not even noticing it.

"It's not him," Ryou said quietly before the other could respond. "Or… it is, but…" He let the sentence fade away, suddenly starting to wonder: if he knew all this, how much did the other boy know about him? The thought made him uneasy, but just then the other boy – _Yuugi_, he suddenly thought – looked at him, and for some reason he didn't completely understand, he knew that he had nothing to worry about from him. "Yuugi," he muttered aloud quietly.

"What?" Jou's confused voice athis shoulder startled him out of his thoughts.

"It is my name," Yuugi answered in his stead. "I know you're thinking that I am Yami, but he is my brother."

Jou rolled his eyes. "So what's this? Another pair of twins? Which of _you_ is the evil one?"

"Neither really," Yuugi answered, giving him a weird look. "But this isn't the best time for chatting…" he glanced around nervously. "There are two demons nearby, and I'm afraid they'll find us soon, especially now that we're not in the cave."

The reminder of the demons made Jou shift and start eyeing the rocks. Even Seto shot a sharp look around, before turning back to Yuugi.

"Keep it short, then. What's happened?"

"Well… my brother and his brother," he nodded towards Ryou, "were starting to fight when the demons attacked. I managed to… block them out, so to say, and we fled here. His brother is still out there somewhere."

Ryou stirred worriedly as he suddenly remembered his brother – _how could you forget in the first place?_ – but Seto's next question cut his thoughts off.

"Where is _your_ brother, then?"

"Right here," Ryou said, as Yuugi hesitated a moment before answering. "They… share the body. He tried to heal him like he healed me, and…"

"Healed you?" Seto turned to him while Jou started wondering if he even wanted to understand any of this. "Are you hurt?"

"Oneof the demons hit him with a dagger," Yuugi said. "Don't worry, he's quite fine now. Luckily he wasn't as close to death as I thought…"

"What's this 'they share the body' business about?" Jou asked suddenly, deciding that he _was_ curious.

Yuugi was quiet for a moment, staring at his feet, and even Ryou was avoiding his companions' eyes. His reasons were different, though – he was thinking about Jou's question, the answer to it, and how… _unfair_ everything was.

"I'm healer-born," Yuugi said finally, "which might surpriseyou since you know who my mother is. Few years ago, my brother was badly hurt. I was with him, and I tried to heal him, but he was dying – and I guess he _should_ have died then. I… couldn't stop, couldn't let go when I should have, so I kept on calling for him, trying to find him to guide him back to life.

"Do you know how the healing is done?" he asked suddenly.

"Basically, yes," Seto said, at the same time as Jou said, "No."

"When someone is about to die," Yuugi continued quietly and didn't notice the frown Seto shot at his hunter who just shrugged, "a healer-born can call him back from the thresholds of death… _but_ he has to call with all he has. For a moment the healer draws the dying into his own body, and for that moment they are one. My brother…"

He fell silent for a moment but continued soon. "He was very badly hurt, as I said. Too badly that he could have returned to his own body, and we were so entwined that it might have been impossible in any case. It required some – well, a lot of– help from our mother for us to beable to continue living like this."

Ryou was frowning. "It sure helps to have the right kind of acquaintances," he muttered, and Yuugi glanced at him quickly, sympathy flashing on his face. It only made Ryou's frown deepen.

There was a moment's silence as everyone was absorbed in his own thoughts.

"I think we need a plan," Seto said finally. "There are many things I still want to know, but we can't forget the demons for any longer. Anyone have any ideas what to do?"

"Uh…" Yuugi's face paled suddenly and he stared somewhere over Seto's shoulder. At the same time Jou's dogs started growling, and Jou himself spun around. "Looking behind you might be one thing…"

_Damn it_, Seto thoughtTurning, he saw two figures watching them from the slopesbelow just a little lower. "What's your brother doing?" he muttered to Yuugi.

"Still unconscious," he muttered back, gulping as the two started approaching.

-

Morning was beginning to dawn when a woman walked down from the cliffs to the rocks which had witnessed the brief struggles a short while before. She stopped for a moment to look around and pushed her already graying black hair away from her face. Finally her eyes restedon a limp figure sprawled on the rocks. For a moment she eyed the white-haired boy in silence, thenwalked to him.

She bent down, wincing a little at the pain in her back. "Right now I wouldn't mind being a little younger," she muttered quietly as she poked the boy's shoulder. "Can't be helped, I'm afraid."

She poked the boy again. "Time to wake up, boy. We have much to do."

**

* * *

**

**A/N:** Cliffhanger again? Uh.. sorry, I didn't mean to…

Anyway, the next chapter will be the last, so let me know what you think about this so far. : )


	12. Chapter 12

Here's the final chapter, finally. I _am_ sorry for the way too long wait, and I hope that I still have some readers left… for all those who were still waiting for an update of this story, thank you. It is great to know you like this.

I'd post review responses here, but since they seem to have been forbidden I'll just have to say a big collective thank you for all my readers. So.

Thank you.

Big thanks, once more, to sarasusamiga for betaing the previous chapters. This chapter is, unfortunately, un-betaed... but at least the story's now finished.

And in the case you have forgotten just what was going on with the story…

**Previous chapter:** Ryou finally reached his brother, but so did also Yami and two demons. After an encounter with the latter, Bakura was left unconscious on the cliffs, Yuugi took over as Yami lost consciousness as well and helped Ryou to fly the demons. They were hiding in a small cave when Jou and Seto found them, but, unfortunately, so did also the demons.

And now, on with the story.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Bakura woke up with a groan. Breathing didn't exactly hurt, but it didn't feel too good either. He tried to gather himself up from the rocks – they were disagreeably sharp under his back – but fell back down with a wince of pain.

"It seems that you have received a decent blow," a voice commented coolly, and he staggered fast to his feet, startled.

"Who are you?" he shouted at figure that had been standing by him, or at least he tried to. Getting up so quickly made his head spin so that he was afraid he would faint again, and the words he got out were barely a whisper. Leaning against a big rock he concentrated on focusing his gaze at this stranger.

"Who are you?" he asked again, more calmly, as he managed to see that this person was only an old woman.

The woman shrugged. "Call me Evayne. Come." She gestured with her hand. "If you just can walk, we have to move on. Our help is needed."

Bakura snorted. "What makes you think I'm going to help anyone?"

"What were you planning to do, then?" The woman gave him a dry look. "Leave the Ring and your brother for the demons and scurry back to your hole?"

Bakura frowned. The last thing he remembered was getting hit by some kind of magic – by those demons, most likely – just when he had been about to start fighting Yami. Now… He glanced around, but saw no traces either of Yami, his brother, or the demons. Or of the Ring, what comes to that.

He cursed silently and directed his frown towards the woman. "And how are _you_ connected to all this?"

She shrugged, again, and started walking onward. "Are you coming?"

For a moment Bakura glared at her back, took then a few tentative steps forward, and, finding that his legs did support him, started to follow her.

-

Not so far away, Ryou and others were staring at the approaching demons, desperately trying to figure out what to do. The cliffs rose sharply behind them, blocking the escape, and the demons were already so close that it would have been too late to run anyway.

"Can you do something about them?" Seto whispered to Yuugi, who shook his head hesitantly.

"I can't really use the Puzzle; Yami can. All I Can do is get the Light, and I'm afraid they're prepared for that." He glanced quickly at Ryou. "Maybe you could do something," he whispered, and Ryou blinked confusedly.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You used the Ring earlier, didn't you? At least on some level. Try to do it again."

Ryou fingered hesitantly the Ring that was currently hanging on his neck. He could feel it, like a soft pulsing in the back of his head, and it made him quite uncomfortable. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be able to use an artifact that belonged to the Goddess of Death.

"Just give it to us," came a soft voice, and with a start he raised his eyes to meet the female demon's. She was beautiful, deadly beautiful, as she watched him with her dark eyes. For a moment – he wasn't certain if it was just his imagination or something the Ring caused – he felt he could almost see the ages that were hidden behind her eyes.

She was as old and beautiful as the stars on the sky, and as dark and cold as the space behind them. He gulped once, nervously.

The woman was standing right ahead of him, her hand stretched forward. Waiting. Slowly, he grasped the Ring and lifted it up. He could hear Jou's sharp breath as he was about to say something, and could almost feel the glare Seto shot at the hunter, silencing him.

The Ring pulsed against his hand, like a living creature, and as he closed his eyes he could still see it in his mind.

_Please,_ he thought, _if you can, just make it go away._

Fast as a striking snake the Ring's five trinkets rose to point toward the demon, and they emitted a dark beam that struck her into chest. The impact made her body fly few meters, and as it hit the ground she didn't get up again.

Ryou was still staring at her with wide eyes when someone grasped him from behind and wrenched the Ring from his hands. He heard Seto's sudden shout and Jou commanding his dogs to attack, but in the same moment that someone wasn't anymore behind his back. The male demon materialized beside the body of his companion, swinging slowly the Ring in his hand. He looked down at the other, shaking his head.

"Told you the boy might be problematic. You just never listen, do you?" He glanced at the small group that was staring at him. "Thanks for the Ring," he said with a smile. "Now, how about handing over the Puzzle as well, so we can all move on?"

"I do not believe your kind has any need for these artifacts," a little out-of-breath voice said behind the demon's back, and he spun around on his heel.

An old woman was slowly approaching them, climbing up with obvious difficulty. A white-haired boy followed her, a constant frown on his face. "Evayne," Seto breathed at the same time as Ryou shouted, "Bakura!"

Not paying any attention on them, the woman stopped as she reached the same level with the demon. "Give me the Ring and leave this place," she said quietly, and a little smirk flashed on the demon's mouth.

"Give you the Ring? Hardly. But you're welcome to try to take it." He made a small movement with his hand and suddenly the earth cracked below them. Ryou lost his footing and would have fallen into the split that was suddenly gaping in front of them, but Jou managed to get a hold of his hand and dragged him back just in time.

"Look out, the mountain's collapsing!" someone shouted, and it was only a tiny exaggeration. Big rocks were falling from the mountain's side, crashing down towards them with a high speed. Just before the first one would have reached them something glittered dimly above them, and the rock bounced aside.

Ryou glanced toward his brother who was trying to stay on his feet on the other side of the split, on the still restless rocks. "Thanks," he shouted, but Bakura was wildly gesturing toward the right.

Seto saw it also, and as he glanced there he saw that it was the only safe direction to move on. They started running there, as fast as they could on the tumultuous ground. Bakura blocked the falling rocks as he best could, but he was having enough trouble as t was in trying to avoid falling into the cracks that were still opening into the ground.

As he stumbled onward Yuugi kept on calling for his brother.

_Yami… wake up, Yami, we need you here…_

It seemed to him that the whole mountain was shaking, and even though he could see the stable land not so far away, he didn't know how they'd ever be able to reach it.

_Yami!_

A big rock flew down just by his head, and he flinched.

_**If you're going to wake up some day, do it now!**_

There was a faint familiar feeling in the back of his head, and with a relieved sob he pushed his brother into control. _Do something about this!_

"Wha…" Yami stumbled and fell on his knees, avoiding by hair's breadth a rock that would have wiped him down the cliffs. He didn't have time to figure out just what was going on, but his reflexes worked and he grasped the Puzzle. Soft light came from it and entered everything around hem, and in a moment the quaking stopped. Some sand was still floating down from the mountains, but soon everything was calm again.

Everyone stopped and turned to look at the youth who was still on his kneels on the ground.

"Did you just stop an earthquake?" Seto found himself asking, awed against his will.

Yami winced. "Please don't shout," he muttered holding his head.

"I'm not shouting," Seto said, and Yami winced again.

"Just shut up, then."

Jou shot a look around, trying to see where all his dogs were. He knew that he had lost one, again. As he petted a big black bitch that came to lick his hand, he noticed Bakura watching them near by. For a moment he stared at the white-haired mage, then, suddenly remembering the demons, ha glanced around but saw nothing.

"Where did they go?" he asked aloud, and Seto – who had been watching just Ryou – raised his head sharply and looked around as well.

Nowhere was there a sign either of the demons or Evayne.

-

Deep, deep in the ground there was a big cavern, a dark and damp place where no light had been seen since the times when the gods walked on earth. Now, there was a dim flame, glittering in the darkness. Slowly it grew stronger and stronger until it lightened the walls of the cavern. Evayne looked carefully around in the light, standing on a small ledge on the cavern's wall. Finally her eyes stopped on the demon who was floating in the air, not so far away.

For a moment they were silent, then the demon smiled a little.

"I have to say that I'm impressed. You're still alive."

Evayne shrugged. "It wasn't a coincidence that I was sent here when I'm at the height of my powers."

"And…" the demon said slowly, "shall we now test those powers?"

Before Evayne could answer the light suddenly went out and the ledge under her feet disappeared. She was falling again, in the dark. Taking a deep breath she ignored this for a moment. She drew from her power and sent it like a lightning toward her enemy. Even though she could not see or hear anything, she knew that she had hit him, and brazed herself against the counterattack she knew would come, slowly stopping her fall and starting to float on the air as well.

-

"They're gone."

Jou snorted at Ryou's quiet comment. "That's quite clear. The question is: will they come back?"

"I hope that Evayne will," Ryou muttered, his gaze flicking between Yami and his brother. Bakura was still standing farther away, keeping an eye on them

Seto walked over to Yami and bent over him. "Are you all right?"

This time Yami managed to suppress his wince. "Yeah, I'm fine. The grandmother of all headaches is just visiting me, that's all."

They were quiet for a while, then Jou sat down on the rocks, his dogs gathering around him. "I guess all we can do for now is to wait."

"Yes…" Yami got up slowly. "Of course," he said, straightening himself a looking grimly from Bakura to Ryou, "there is the matter of these thieves."

Seto took a step forward so that he was standing between Yami and Ryou. "And what have you planned to do about them?"

Yami met his gaze evenly. "We cannot have people stealing our holy artifacts and escaping without punishment, I am sure you understand that."

"Then deal with the thief and leave Ryou alone. I am sure _you_ understand I will not let you harm him."

Yami didn't answer, just smiled softly. Everyone was silent for a moment, then Seto glanced over his shoulder at Ryou who was staring at the ground. "You did not have anything to do with it, did you?"

Ryou looked up slowly, biting his lip. "We stole it together," he said after a while. "We _needed_ it," he continued hotly before Seto could say anything. "Or at least I thought we did." He shot a glare at his brother. "Someone just wasn't interested in telling me why he wanted the Ring in the first place."

Bakura shrugged. "You know it wouldn't have worked in any case, don't you? So I thought I could just as well use it to for my own purposes."

"It could have worked." Ryou was still glaring at him, stubbornly. "There's no way of knowing if we don't try."

"What could have worked?" Jou cut them off, annoyed. "What are you talking about?"

Ryou glanced at him hesitantly but in the end decided to answer anyway. "Our sister. Amane. She… died a little ago, and we… I thought… that maybe…"

"It is as your brother says," Yami cut him off. "It wouldn't have worked. Even though you seem to be able to use the powers of the Ring, you wouldn't be able to bring back the dead."

Ryou shot an angry glare at him. "Yeah, maybe I wouldn't. I'm not Death's son, anyway. _You _are here, alive and well, even though you should be dead."

"Yes," Yami said softly, "but I never died. You could have used the Ring to save your sister while she was still alive, but not after. The dead do not return."

Jou was following the discourse with growing discomfort. He didn't like the idea of stealing from gods – actually, he didn't like the idea of dealing with gods in one way or another –but… If Shizuka died, would he be ready to steal from the Lady to bring her back? Yeah, maybe.

Seto's thoughts were following a very similar pattern to Jou's. Doing his best to hide his uneasiness he cleared his throat. "I… understand your point," he said to Yami, "but… it doesn't make any difference. As long as I live, you will not harm Ryou in any way."

Yami smiled. "Oh, but it would be quite easy for me to take care of that little condition, wouldn't it?" He fell silent for a moment, as if listening. "Very well. I will leave him be – Yuugi seems to have taken sudden liking on him. And don't worry, he will be quite able to convince Mother to forgive your little friend." _You fondling_, he added in his mind to his brother. "You, on the other hand…" he said, turning to Bakura.

The thief smiled lazily. "I'm so happy you finally remembered me. I was starting to get afraid you don't want to settle this matter."

"Bakura…" Ryou started worriedly, but he silenced him with a wave.

"Be quiet and step back," he muttered. "I'm going to take care of this cocky midget once and for all."

"You're welcome to try," Yami said, and just then the earth grumbled again. For a moment Ryou thought that Yami had released the earthquake he had stopped, but the startled look on Yami's face told him he had nothing to do with this.

-

Evayne could feel her combatant flying upwards, and she followed him. She was tired, but she knew that she had, finally, gained upper hand, and she wasn't about to give up. Now, if she only could reach the Ring… Pushing herself forward with all her strength she reached the demon and got a hold of his hand. They hadn't been this close before during their battle, and for a moment, despite all her skills and knowledge – or maybe just because of them – she was terrified. Still, she managed to get a hold of the Ring and clung to it, being dragged forward by the demon. She heard the demon snarl, and at that moment they sprung back to the surface.

-

"It's Evayne!" Ryou shouted as he saw the robed woman clinging to the demon's hand.

Yami looked up at the battle that was now going on above them, and quickly muttered few words under his breath. The patterns on the Puzzle glowed softly, but no other reaction could be seen. Still, the demon cried of pain, and his grip of the Ring was suddenly loosened. Evayne hold to it, stumbled in the air, and fell down.

Bakura reached out with his arms, and Evayne's fall became slower, until she just floated down to the ground. The demon was still hovering in the air, pain clearly visible on his face. He looked down at the seeress, Lady's son, and the mage, hesitated for a moment, and disappeared then with enraged cry.

"They are gone," Evayne said after a moment, quietly.

"So… it is over?" Jou asked hesitantly, and she smiled bitterly.

"As much as it ever will be. At least for this battle." She looked at the Ring in her hands and turned to Ryou. "You'd better take a good care of this," she said, offering the Ring to him.

"What?" Yami stared at her. "But it…"

"Belongs to him, for now." Evayne looked at him seriously. "Believe me in this."

"But… I… all right." Yami sighed. "I will. Though I will have to speak about this with Mother, of course."

"Of course," Evayne nodded, and gave the Ring to Ryou.

"I'm not sure if I want to have this," Ryou said quietly, watching the Ring in his hand.

Evayne smiled a little. "Maybe you don't. But there are times when we have to do things we do not want to do, and you have to carry the Ring for now." Her and Ryou's eyes met for a moment, and then, with a sigh, Ryou put the Ring on his neck.

"So," Seto said, watching the Ring suspiciously, "maybe we should leave home now." This got a very hearty agreement from Jou. "Will you come with us?" he asked still looking at Ryou, and the white-haired boy stopped fingering the Ring and looked up at him with a smile.

"I'd love to."

"We, on the other hand," Yami stated, looking at Bakura through slit eyes, "have still matters to settle."

"Indeed. Maybe this time no one will come to interrupt us."

"If they value their lives, they will not."

Ryou looked at them worriedly, but Evayne petted his shoulder. "Don't worry. They won't kill each other. Not now and not here, anyway."

Ryou looked at the two battle-eager mages who weren't anymore paying any attention to others around them and sighed. Turning his back at them he looked at the others. "Maybe we should go, then."

Jou nodded. "Let's go find Feron. He's still alive but hurt."

The three boys started slowly walking down the cliffs. Seto glanced over his shoulder at Evayne. "And you?"

She shook her head. "I'm needed elsewhere, I'm afraid. They just cannot give an old woman a break." She smiled shortly. "But we will meet again, if my memory serves me right."

Jou glanced at her quickly. "Somehow that doesn't comfort me at all," he muttered quietly, but the others didn't hear him. They said their goodbyes to Evayne, glanced once more at the battling mages, and walked away, Seto and Ryou holding hands, Jou snickering quietly at them.

* * *

**A/N:**

(If you don't remember Feron… he's one of Jou's dogs, got hurt in the pervious chapter.)

So. Believe it or not, it is finished. I was going to write an epilogue for this, and I still _might_ do it, but let's just say that this is finished for now. Maybe if I some day get the inspiration I'll write it, but... let's see what's the situation after a couple of years.

Thank you very much for reading this far! I know this is quite a humble story when compared to Michelle West's books, but I hope it has kept you entertained anyway.

And if you ever need something good to read, check out her books. (_Hunter's Oath _and _Hunter's Death_, and the series that is, kind of, a continuation for them, starting with _The Broken Crown_. They're all great books, but personally I like the latter series even better. Be warned, though, they're not any fast reads.)

And thank you again.


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